Fools in Love
by Mimi-sama
Summary: Naminé is a shy, bitter and antisocial girl who transfers into Twilight High... But what happens when she unintentionally attracts one of the school's most popular guy's attention? MULTI PAIRING CENTERED FIC.
1. All's Fair in Love and Dodgeball

**Fools in Love: RETAKE**

**A/N:** This story is dedicated to a close online friend of mine, Nina. Thanks for being my support – especially when it comes to writing – all these years. Heart you. :P

Chapter 1

A blond girl clutches her books tightly to her chest as she is standing before the gigantic building that, as of today, is going to be her new high school for the years to come.

Why is she here again? Oh, yeah, because Cloud, her father, doesn't feel good about leaving her in a school, or a town, where she won't be having extra protection, that's why.

She takes a deep breath as the huge school gate greets her as a new student. Countless of students are walking through the school gates, laughing and idly talking with their companions. Naminé trembles nervously. She's always uncomfortable around strangers.

"Good luck, kid. Remember, Tifa's here if you need anything," says Cloud before driving off. Her last source of strength, gone…

Naminé breathes in the air outside the school gates, trying to calm herself, she is feeling so nervous and petrified, walking around this new environment. Some students eye her curiously as she walks past them. She notices them whispering and looking her way, but she keeps her head low, trying desperately to avoid eye contact.

She walks slowly toward the school lockers to get her books and schedule, trying to stay out of sight as much as possible, merging with the shadows. Why does it feel like the whole world is watching every step she makes?

She breathes in again, trying to calm her heart beat down. Oh great, she thinks, it's becoming harder to breathe as well. At times like this, she'd usually take out her sketch book and draw to relieve her stress. But there's no time now.

As she is contemplating this in her head, a group of friends arrive at the spot near her. She peeks cautiously from behind her locker. There stands two boys; one of them is chubby and kind of short looking boy with black hair and a friendly smile. The other is taller a bit, with messy blond hair and a playful smirk on his lips. The final person is a cute emerald-eyed brunette.

"I'm in _all_ of Olette's classes! YESS!" The blond with messy hair exclaims happily, punching the air.

"And why are you so happy about it, Hayner? You've always considered me boring!" The girl, Olette, crosses her arms in front of her while glaring at Hayner.

The blond shrugs casually. "I still consider you boring, but having you in the same class has its privileges."

The brunette raises an eye-brow. "Huh?"

"It means, he's gonna spend all year copying your homework and cheating off your tests... just like he used to in middle school," The chubby one explains in a matter of fact tone.

Hayner panics as Olette sends him a death glare. "So _that's_ why you hung around with me in the first place!"

"N-No! That's not it, well kind of..." He gulps nervously as Olette's eyes narrows, "B-But I do think you're cute!"

The three of them freeze. Hayner curses himself quietly, Pence hides a growing smile, while Olette blushes profusely.

"W-Where did that come from?" Olette stutters, trying to stop herself from blushing.

Hayner shakes his head sheepishly. "Forget it. Let's get ready for class."

Just as they pass their lockers, they hear a low thud coming from their right side, a blond girl kneeling on the floor to pick up a book she's dropped. Olette hurries and picks it up for her, smiling friendly. "Here you go!" She hands it over to her. The girl bows her head timidly, mumbling a barely audible 'thanks'.

Olette looks at her curiously, and then extends her hand to help the girl up. "Hi there, my name is Olette."

The shy girl looks at her hand warily, and then slowly, hesitantly takes it.

"What's your name?" Olette asks.

"N-Na- Naminé," she replies, trying to avoid eye contact.

Olette smiles warmly at how shy and adorable the blonde girl is. "Oh, and this is Hayner and Pence!" She quickly turns and introduces her best friends now standing curiously behind her.

Naminé merely nods, gazing timidly at the floor…

xxxxxxx

_Meanwhile, at the school gate..._

"Sora, tell me again _why_ exactly are you hiding behind me?" A red-headed girl glares at the brunette standing so uncomfortably close behind her.

"The fangirls Kairi, the _fangirls_!" Whispers the spiky-haired boy quietly, looking from side to side, as if a random fangirl will jump at him from nowhere at any second.

Kairi sweat-drops. "Hiding behind me is useless, Sora. How many times did I tell you that?"

"If a random fan girl attacks me, you'll protect me, right? You're the only one who can take them down!" He gulps nervously as he sees a gush of fan girls run toward their direction. "I'm counting on you!"

The fangirls surround a tall silver-haired teen standing a bit farther ahead. They squeal annoyingly as he waves at them.

Sora peeks from Kairi's shoulder. "I wonder how Riku is able to control them. Amazing!"

Kairi shakes her head. "Let's just go already!" She walks ahead, leaving a frightened Sora behind.

"Aaah! Kairi! Don't leave meee!" He runs after her, taking wary side glances with every step.

xxxxxxx

Seifer Almasy, the biggest bully in the entire school approaches Hayner, Pence and Olette near the mysterious blonde girl's locker.

He flashes a teasing smirk as soon as he stands before them, his two followers; Fuu and Rai, behind him. When Hayner's group notices him, they glare hatefully at their long-time enemies.

"What do you want Seifer?" Hayner hisses dangerously.

Seifer shrugs coolly. "Oh, nothing, just here to meet the loser who'd talk to _you_, lamers." He glances at a frightened looking Naminé hiding behind Olette. His smirk grows bigger. "What are you doing hanging out with those losers, cutie?"

"You can come hang out with us y'know?" Rai, one of his followers says. The third follower, a strange looking girl, simply nods silently.

"Shut up!" Hayner yells at them, a vein almost popping out of his forehead. He is known for his ill-temper.

"Calm down, Hayner!" Pence pleads while patting his enraged friend's shoulder.

Olette senses a fight coming, she fears that Hayner will get in trouble, and on his first day at High school, that won't be good. "Please leave, Seifer. We don't want any trouble!" She says, looking pleadingly at the older blond.

Seifer castes a curious glance at Olette, and then shrugs and walks off. "Let's go, these losers aren't worth it!" He tells his followers before walking off.

As soon as they leave, Hayner turns angrily to Olette. "I can't believe you let them go, Olette! And what's with that look ya gave him!"

Olette is taken aback by his outburst. "What 'look'?" She asks skeptically.

Hayner grits his teeth, trying to control his anger. "Whatever! Forget it!" He turns the other way and head-butts the locker, frightening the blonde girl. The other two seem accustomed to it, they just roll their eyes.

"It's strange..." Pence muses out loud. His two pals look at him curiously while Naminé is still recovering from the sudden fright in the background. "He actually listened to Olette, don't you find that strange?"

Hayner frowns. "What, do you think he likes her? Impossible!"

Olette pouts, her hands on her hips. "And _why_ is that impossible? Am I that ugly to you?"

Hayner panics again, he is never good with words. Especially around Olette. But she looks utterly cute with that pouting face of hers. He blushes at his thoughts. "D-Don't make that face!"

Olette pouts harder. "What face? You're so weird, Hayner! Seriously!"

"THAT FACE! Just stop it!" Hayner snaps.

Pence sweat-drops as he watches the two get into a cat fight. "_Why won't they admit they like each other already?"_

Naminé watches them curiously yet, at the same time, with fascination. These people are so strange to her. She isn't very social. Most of the time Naminé likes to be alone, preferably somewhere secluded from noise, or maybe in a quiet corner by herself.

Suddenly, the place gets extremely noisy. The sounds of squealing fangirls can be heard from all angles of the hallway. Naminé turns around, curious to see what the commotion is about.

Meanwhile, upon entering the school building, Sora is clinging onto Kairi in a death grip. "Kairi, don't ever leave me again! I can't survive here without you!"

Kairi sighs. "You're a big boy now Sora! You can manage…"

Sora shakes his head vehemently. "No I can't! Those fangirls would eat me alive!"

"Why don't you go annoy Riku for a change?" Kairi sighs again in annoyance.

Sora's face pales in fear. "NO! Riku is a danger zone… He is _surrounded_ by fangirls! 24/7! It's so much safer with you, Kairi. You kick butt!"

"Fine! Just shut up for at least 10 minutes so I can read my schedule, in peace!" She snaps as they reach their locker, which happens to be not so far away from Naminé and Hayner's groups' location.

"Fine!" Sora retorts with a pout.

They check their schedules together. Sora isn't too happy with the results.

"This sucks! I have only _one_ class with you!" He pouts again childishly.

Kairi giggles. "Tell me what you have!"

"I have English, Art, Math's, PE, History and Science! See, we only share PE! Bummer…" He pouts deeper.

Kairi smiles encouragingly at him. "Cheer up. You might share some with Riku!"

Naminé's eyes are widening in shock as she checks her schedule; it is as if the boy talking to that red-headed girl over there is reading out of HER schedule. She turns around just to check if he is peeking at her paper or not.

"That's Sora Leonhart, Kairi Kimaru and of course, Riku Yoshida." Olette says, suddenly she and her friends are right next to Naminé, who nearly jumps at her voice.

"...The most popular group at school," Pence silently adds.

"They've had their own fanclubs, too. Ever since middle school!" Hayner says, shaking his head. "Pretty annoying if you ask me!"

Naminé wonders why they are telling her all this. Olette seems to be able to read her mind because she suddenly says, "I caught you looking at them. Sora in particular. Though I don't blame you, he's super cute." Hayner isn't too happy with Olette's last comment, he looks pretty annoyed.

Naminé panics. "N-No... that's not it... I-It's j-just t-that... um," she glances down at her schedule, and freezes when realization hit her. _She shares all of her classes with one of the most popular guys at school!_

"Are you okay Naminé? You look a little pale…" Olette asks worriedly. Naminé meekly shakes her head, quickly stuffing her schedule inside the locker.

The bell rings, Hayner and his friends say their goodbyes and rush to their own classes, while Naminé heads toward her English class.

xxxxxxx

Sora really is in all her classes.

He is a... unique person in class, she is forced to admit, and the girls love him. Even the boys. He is generally nice and sweet, although he is also _loud_, _annoying_, and _lazy_, she mentally adds. He sleeps in most classes and often causes lots of racket. But even when he acts like a total goofball, everyone adores him. Maybe it's because of his smile, Naminé believes. Definitely his smile. She's noticed that he smiles to everyone, and treats them all friendly. He has _no_ enemies, which is a wonder to Naminé. Probably because he's good looking and skilled in socializing with people, she concludes. There's nothing else that's special about him other than that.

Like always, Naminé always prefers to sit in the back of the classroom, a common place for shy people. She watches Sora, who, surprisingly, sits not too far in front of her. Most of the time he's drooling over his books in deep sleep. He isn't especially smart either, in fact he is FAR from smart, Naminé notes. The only class he shines in is PE. He is an exceptional basket ball player, along with his friend Riku.

Sora, Kairi and Riku are incredibly popular. In the cafeteria, lots of people hang out around their table. Naminé, however, doesn't like the commotion; she prefers peace and quiet, and so she mostly hangs around the rooftop alone, or go to the library, where she meets Olette sometimes.

Olette isn't exactly her friend, but she is the only person she dares to speak to, so far. Naminé is an incredibly anti-social person. She doesn't feel comfortable around strangers usually, but amazingly, she feels comfortable around Olette, more so than the rest at least. Sadly, she only shares one class with her. Math's. Hayner and Pence are there too, of course.

Naminé loves Art class the most, to her that can never change, even now. Drawing is her escape. When she draws something, she relieves herself stress and insecurities around people. Of course, Sora is in this class, too. And so far, Naminé notes, he never seems to sit too far away from her.

Then, one day, suddenly, the teacher enters the room, holding his head high. The class has started.

"Good morning, class. Today we're doing a project in pairs," He announces.

Sora gulps nervously as all of a sudden, the fangirls leap out of their seats toward their defenseless prey, and bombard him with pleads to be their partner.

"Sora! I wanna be your partner!"

"Sora pick me!"

"ME ME MEEE!"

"Would you be my partner, Sora?"

"No, pick _me_, Sora-kun!"

Sora can't say no, but he isn't sure who exactly to pick or who is shouting what, there are too many of them.

"Uh..." He feels himself sweating.

The teacher clears his throat, but no one seems to notice. He clears it over, and over, and over again, yet, still, it is barely audible through the fangirls begging. Sora tries to reach out for air as the fangirls pile over him, suffocating him.

"GIRLS! GET BACK TO YOUR SEATS IMMEDIATLY!" The teacher yells, finally losing his patience.

The entire class freeze, Sora is finally able to breathe again as the fangirls slowly start to disperse one after another. He breathes a sigh of relief.

Naminé pities him. If she is in his position, she will literally faint from all the attention. Being popular must suck.

The teacher clears his throat again. "_I_ will be the one choosing the pairs!" He exclaims, earning a groan from the fangirls. He starts calling out the names.

Naminé hopes not to be paired up with Sora. She knows that if she does end up with him, the fangirls will murder her on the spot. Meanwhile, nearby, Sora is practically praying not to be paired up with a fangirl. _Anyone_ but fangirl. Because if he does end up with a fangirl, then the rest of her species will murder her on the spot. He doesn't wish for class to turn into a massacre.

As the teacher calls out the names for the pairings, everyone tenses in the suspense. The fangirls who don't end up being paired with Sora sulk in their seats, engulfed in utter misery. Naminé sighs with relief when she discovers she isn't paired up with Sora, her partner comes up towards her, a clearly depressed fangirl, she relaxes. _Safe_.

Not too long after that, the moment almost everyone is expecting is here. Sora's name is called.

"Sora Leonhart and... hmm...where was I again?" The teacher murmurs while checking his clipboard. The anticipating fangirls curse at him to continue under their breath, leaning over the edge of their seats. The teacher finally looks up and says, "Sora Leonhart and Lana Tsukiko!"

Lana – the epitome of joy currently – squeals with delight as she skips happily toward a groaning Sora.

_"NOOO! NOT A FANGIRL!"_He sighs inwardly and lets his head fall on the desk. The other fangirls hiss in the background, glaring daggers at the Lana girl as she wraps her arms around Sora's forcefully.

"Lucky bitch!"

"Waah! I wanted to be with Sora-kuun!"

"Nooo!"

"I hope that bitch dies!"

"THERE'S NO POINT TO THIS CLASS IF I DIDN'T END UP WITH SORA!"

Naminé sweat-drops at the fangirls' typical melodrama. Is she the ONLY person here who is NOT obsessed about Sora, besides the boys? Well, even some of the boys seem to obsess over him…..

The 'lucky' girl clings onto Sora possessively, showing off a teasing 'I-win-in-your-faces-bitches!' smirk to every glaring fangirl. Poor Sora is tense the entire time, but as soon as the bell rings, he makes a dash for the door. The entire army of fangirls that's in this class starts to run after him at full speed.

Typical scene for Naminé, she's getting used to it gradually. Soon, she is the only one left in the room. She's truly glad she isn't in his shoes, as she pictures a cornered Sora surrounded by fangirls at every turn he makes.

xxxxxx

It is PE and Sora's sitting on one of the benches, waiting for Kairi and Riku who are still changing in the lockers room. His left eye starts to twitch as he spots the fangirls in his class standing not too far, glaring at him like hawks and giggling girlishly. And then they slowly advance towards him, their prey.

Sora gulps hard. "_Kairiii, hurry up!"_ He mentally screams.

"Hey, Soraaa… What are you doiiiing?" They ask as soon as they come up to him, giggling like the crazy fangirls they are.

"Uhm, just chillin'..." He says carefully. The fangirls squeal in delight and gather around Sora. Then they start barraging him with questions:

"Sora, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Do you like someone?"

"How about you go out with me?"

"Shut up! Why'd he go out with an ugly bitch like you!"

"SORA! DO YOU LIKE RED HAIR? IS THAT WHY YOU'RE CLOSE TO KAIRI? I'LL DYE MY HAIR IF YOU WANT!"

Sora looks away, trying to ignore them, and spots Riku coming, his best male friend, and shoots him a 'SAVE-ME!' look. Riku sighs, then shakes his head, and comes toward their direction. Waving coolly, he says, "Hey girls."

They squeal annoyingly as soon as they see him, "It's Ri-_ku_! RIKUU!"

Riku gives them a seducing smirk. "Would you mind if I talk to my friend alone, ladies?"

The fangirls shake their head like idiots, and some of them even swoon on the spot. Finally, they walk away, still gazing at them from afar, though. Sora sighs with exasperation.

Riku chuckles at his best friend's expression and takes a seat next to him. "Honestly, Sora, they're all just girls. Why are you so scared?"

Sora's expression turns serious. "They're not _just girls_… They're… They're… evil!"

Riku rolls his eyes at his best friend's naivety. "Just give them a smile, flirt with them a little, and they'll leave you alone. They're easy to handle."

Sora shivers at the thought of him actually doing that around them. "Easy for _you_ to say! They'd rape and then eat me alive!"

Riku shakes his head, suppressing a smile. "You're exaggerating!"

"Hi guys!" The boys look up to see Kairi with Yuffie Kisaragi, her best girl friend. Sora and Riku mumble a 'hey' back.

Yuffie smiles at Sora, and then glares at Riku, who looks at her curiously. She and Riku share a long history together. She hates him because of his 'sexism' and womanizing ways, it disgusts her. Back in middle school, she used to have a major crush on him though. But when she finally confessed, he turned her down coldly. She still holds a grudge against him.

"Good to see you too, Yuffie," Riku says sarcastically, smirking.

"Hmph!" Yuff huffs, ignoring him completely.

"Love you too," Riku bites back, his smirk stretching as Yuffie flushes.

"Sh-Shut up, pretty-boy!"

Sora and Kairi watch their love-hate relationship with interest.

"So you think I'm pretty? Interesting..." He winks at her teasingly.

She rolls her eyes, and crosses her arms. "Too pretty for a boy, if you ask me!"

Kairi decides to butt in before Riku goes any farther and pisses Yuffie off. "You two are still as friendly as ever..." She and Sora laugh nervously when Yuffie glares at them.

Suddenly, the coach blows the whistle and yells at them to line up. Naminé, who is sitting on one of the far benches the entire time, stands in the rear of the line, far away from Sora, his friends, and the fangirls. The coach announces they'll be playing Dodge Ball today. The class groans in response. Naminé pale, she _hates_ violence.

As the coach calls out the names of both teams, Sora falls down in misery. "NOO! I'm against you guys! This is _so_ unfair!"

Riku and Kairi smirk evilly in return. "You're going down Sora! Finally… a chance to get our revenge on you, for annoying the hell out of us these past years!"

They glower menacingly at him as he gulps hard, sweating a bit. "Oookayy...I'm gonna go get ready with my team now... G-Good luck... ehehe..." He adds nervously while backing away from them. _"Murder intent! I'm doooomed!" _

_As Sora approaches his team…_

"SORA!" He looks up at Yuffie's voice, a grin on his face.

"Yuffie! We're on the same team?" He exclaims happily.

She grins back, winking. "Yep! Let's do our best!"

"ALRIGHT!" Sora punches the air excitedly.

Yuffie looks at him seriously all of sudden. "We _HAVE_ to win!"

Sora stops and blinks at her dumbfoundedly. "Eh?"

She pushes a finger in front of his face, her eyes on fire. "We MUST win! We can't let Pretty-boy and Kairi beat us!" She says 'Pretty-boy's' namine venomously, and then bursts out cackling like a witch. "Prick is _sooo_ dead!"

Sora sweat-drops. "_Why is everyone keen on murdering each other today...?"_

xxxxxx

Naminé is standing behind, in the shadows, but she soon realizes that she is in the same team as Sora. As they gather, she inches closer to try to hear about the plan they were talking about, but the fangirls are all over Sora, pushing the other girls out of the way to be able to touch him. So Naminé ends up left out of the circle.

Then, suddenly, she hears Sora shout; "Team! Go out there and… survive!" And then, they start to break up, just like that, leaving Naminé with a question mark looming over her head.

"_This has to be the shortest plan ever…" _She concludes with a sweat-drop.

Soon, she gets dragged away by the army of fangirls dashing toward the field, so Sora doesn't get a chance to notice her, as a storm of flying balls, screams yelps and more things Naminé can't register flew across the field, she stays out of the spotlight, while her comrades fall down in battle around her.

Yuffie gets a ball, and aims it straight at Riku, who notices her; they're having a glaring competition in the midst of the battle. Riku starts to smirk while Yuffie scowls. They start attacking each other, she misses and growls in frustration, but she dodges his in return, smirking triumphantly. But, just as she looks up, Kairi's ball clashes with her head and she falls back in slow-motion, crying, "NOOOOOOOO!"

Sora notices his comrade falling and runs to her side frantically. He picks up her cold body. "YUFFIE! SPEAK TO ME!" He shouts dramatically, teary-eyed.

Yuffie looks at him weakly. "S-Sora... You... must win... AVENGE ME!" She faints instantly.

"YUFFIE! NOOOOOOO!" Sora screams dramatically, and then sobs over her unconscious body.

Naminé witnesses the entire event, and merely sweat-drops at the drama going on.

Sora, meanwhile, turns swiftly to face the enemy, his eyes widen panicky as he notices a ball soaring his way – and he is defenseless!

Riku, Kairi and Naminé anticipate the moment, however, a random fangirl suddenly flies in the way, her arms in the air, crying, "SORAA-KUUUN!" She moves in front of Sora, gets hit by the ball instead, and falls down in slow motion, face first on the ground.

Naminé sweat-drops, again, as the fangirl on the ground weakly turns to Sora. "S-Sora-kun... please... please... try your best...okay?" She says weakly before fainting drama-queen style.

Sora nods, a bit sheepishly, he appreciates it when others do nice things for him. He smiles at the fallen fangirl warmly; the other fangirls go into a rage of jealousy. So one by one they go flying in front of him, getting hit in his place. In no time, Sora loses nearly all of his team. His head slumps down disappointedly at the outcome, while the guys gawk in amazement. Most of them thinking: "_I wish they'd do that for me!"_

There are now five people left in Sora's team; two fangirls, a random guy, plus Sora and Naminé.

"ALRIGHT!" Sora exclaims optimistically. "I still have three people remaining! At least I can depend on the random guy to watch my back... YEAH! THAT MEANS I STILL HAVE SOME HOPE!" He screams out loud, making everyone on the field sweat-drop while Naminé moves away from the clearly hysterical Sora.

Suddenly, Sora looks around to find that the two remaining fangirls are down. They cry out pathetically, "S-Soraaaa! Save us!"

Riku and Kairi roll their eyes. Sora glances at the random guy, his 'last' hope. Then he looks back at his enemies Riku, Kairi and what's left of their team.

Without warning; there is a hurricane of balls, all aiming at Sora's team, Sora miraculously dodges them all, however his 'last hope' isn't as lucky and gets hit in the heat of the battle. Sora's heart-breaking cry can be heard bouncing off all angles of the field, "NOOOOOO! IT CAN'T... It just... IT CAN'T BE OVER... it… it just can't...!" He whimpers as he bends on all fours, his head hanging low miserably.

Riku has the devil's smirk playing on his lips.

"Say your prayers _So_-_ra_-_kun_!" Kairi says menacingly, making sure she mocks every letter of his name.

Then she and Riku jointly throw the ball at their target at the same time. Sora makes a dash for it, running as fast as he can, but the ball keeps hunting him, in every turn and direction he runs.

He pales. "WHAT THE HELL! IMPOSSIB-" BAM! He is knocked out cold, falling on the ground in slow motion, but as he impacts with the ground a faint "ible" is heard just before he lost his consciousness.

xxxxxxx

Sora wakes up in the infirmary to find Riku's and Kairi's worried faces staring at him.

"He's awake!" Kairi smiles with relief.

Sora sits upright, looking around with a confused expression. "W-What happened? Where am I? WHO WON?" He asks frantically.

"We knocked you out in the game pretty bad, so we had to carry you to the infirmary," Riku says smugly. Every word is obviously meant to tease Sora.

Kairi glares at him as Sora bends his head in disappointment. "I-I see... so... that means... we lost..."

"Uhm, well... not exactly... Your team won," Kairi says nervously.

As she finishes her sentence, Riku hangs his head down in shame.

Sora's eyes go wide in disbelief. "WE DID! HOW? I WAS THE ONLY SURVIVOR-"

Kairi cuts in. "Not quite... There was another girl left in your team... Naminé... was it..?" She shrugs, "Probably one of your fangirls!"

Sora looks down at the bed sheet, thinking. "Wait a minute!" He exclaims suddenly at his two best friends. "Then that means..."

He looks up at Riku, his lips slowly turning into a teasing grin.

Kairi nods. "Yeah, she even beat Riku!"

Riku blushes five shades of pink out of embarrassment, bending his head down even lower in shame. He feels Sora's eyes on him and looks up sharply, scowling when he notes that evil grin.

"Don't say it..." Riku hisses dangerously, but it doesn't affect Sora one bit.

"Say what?" Sora asks innocently.

"You know what!" Riku snaps.

Sora grins from ear to ear. "RIKU LOST TO A _GIRL_!" He breaks out laughing out loud hysterically.

"..." Riku's expression becomes dark, but he says nothing.

"THIS IS PRICELESS!" Sora cries as he clutches his stomach. "YOU GOT BEATEN BY A _GIRL_!"

Riku's eyes twitch, his pride is at stake. "I-I tell you, that girl isn't normal! She's some crazy obsessed fangirl. No where near normal!"

"But Ri-_kuu_.. I thought you said... girls are just girls, they're easy to handle...?"

"Sh-Shut up or I'll knock you out again!"

Kairi sighs tiredly. "Stop it guys, you're acting like kids!"

Riku huffs in annoyance while Sora tries to stifle a laugh.

"Naminé was really amazing though!" Kairi muses out loud suddenly, "Even when all five of us teamed up on her! We couldn't land a single ball... is she one of your fangirls?" Kairi asks curiously.

Sora scratches his chin, thinking. "Naminéee? Hmmm... nope! I don't THINK I know her..."

"I never noticed her before either," Riku adds thoughtfully. "That's really strange though... I always notice a pretty looking girl."

Sora blinks curiously. "What does she look like?" He asks them, looking from one to the other.

Then, suddenly, Nurse Tifa enters the room. "Oh, I see you're better now Sora. That's good to know." She smiles sweetly.

The two boys blush pink as Kairi rolls her eyes at the sight.

"T-Thanks, miss Lockhart!" Sora says bashfully with a love-sick look on his face. Nearly all boys in school have a crush on the nurse.

Kairi smacks him on the head.

"WHAT!" He glares at her.

"Quit flirting with our teacher, will ya?" She says in disgust, huffing.

"I-I'M NOT FLIRTING!" Sora yells back. Tifa giggles, causing Sora to blush a deeper shade of pink.

"You can go out now, kids," she says while shaking her head and then turning back to her work.

xxxxxxx

Chairs screech along the floor as the students take their seats, chatting and gossiping away. Yuffie enters the room and spots a quiet looking Naminé at the far end of the classroom, drawing. She grins as she hurries towards the blonde girl, then takes the seat in front of her and sits on it backward, making sure it faces Naminé.

Naminé looks up cautiously at Yuffie who grins at her. "Hey, weren't you the chick who beat the prick? YOU'RE AWESOME!"

Naminé blushes a bit and avoids eye contact, quickly re-focusing on her sketchbook, as if Yuffie has never said anything to her.

Yuffie looks at her strangely and sits down properly, in an awkward silence. She shrugs. _"Weird girl..."_

The teacher suddenly enters the classroom, everyone sits still as she gazes upon the class, "Today, I'll be announcing the lab partners. Take note, kids, that the partners I'm going to call out, will be your partners for the rest of the upcoming year."

Naminé blocks off her ears from what is going on around her for a while, and refocuses on drawing, only when the teacher calls out her name, that she looks up.

"Naminé Strife and Sora Leonhart!"

….

Is she hearing right? The poor girl pales when she notices VERY jealous looking fangirls glare at her direction. She _is_ hearing right!

She is paired up with Sora Leonhart... _one of the most popular guys at the whole school!_


	2. Just Curious

Chapter 2

Things aren't going exactly the way that Naminé visualized it in her mind. All she really wants is to remain alone and unnoticed, faraway from trouble, protected from the world and what it may throw at her. However, since she knew Sora, it doesn't seem to go that way anymore.

She glances at the fangirls present in the classroom, analyzing their reaction. All of them are glaring solely at her; jealous and full of unhidden envy seeping out of them. Naminé is starting to find it hard to breathe. It's always been like this, whenever she's distressed or forced to interact with other people, her body would start to immobilize, or she'd literally faint.

_"It's not true... It can't be true... ME? ... with HIM?... It can't be… I'm sure I heard wrong... I'm sure..."_

She turns her head to face the fangirls again, and gulps hard, her eyes nervously darting all over the place. Nope. She is definitely not mishearing. She tries hard to ignore their looks. No avail.

"_Someone, help me!"_Naminé cries desperately in her head, eyes closed tight, as if in pain.

Fortunately for her, her prayer is answered when Yuffie raises her hand.

"Sora is in the nurse's office right now; he got hit on the head at Dodge ball and passed out!"

Naminé sighs with relief when the fangirls' gazes cease; they're more preoccupied with Sora's injury now. **Safe**. Yet, in her mind she knows that he _will_ be there next time, because he will be her partner for the _REST OF THE YEAR_.

She bites down on her lip, staring down at her lap in misery.

_"Why does it have to be __**him**__...?"_

xxxxxxxxxxx

The bell rings, signaling the end of school hours. Everybody spurts out of the school building, laughing, chatting and what not.

Naminé stays in the back and lets the crowd go ahead before her. She finds an empty bench to sit on – barely visible and hidden by the bushes – and waits for her dad to pick her up like always. He is _extremely_ against the idea of her walking home from school alone; because he fears a lot for her safety, but unfortunately, he goes way overboard sometimes.

All of a sudden, while Naminé is drawing peacefully and quietly in her sketchbook; the fangirls appear, running out of the school building while chasing after poor Sora, their prey, calling out if he is 'Okay' after the hit he had earlier in the Dodge ball match, but he continues to dart away from all of them, as if they are a group of predators out on a hunt.

Naminé breathes out a sigh as she watches him run around the place frantically, with fangirls persistently in toe. They _do_ act like predators.

With a quick sigh, she stands up, and walks in the other direction, aimlessly going around the campus. She turns through one corner, only to freeze abruptly when she sees Sora running full speed in her direction.

"HIDE ME!" He whispers hoarsely at her.

Namine yelps from the sudden fright and immediately hides herself behind her sketchbook, wondering how he managed to teleport himself here when she distinctly saw him run toward the other direction earlier. To her, Sora is unpredictable and inescapable; he keeps popping up in her life stubbornly for some reason.

Sora, on the other hand, stops abruptly, and pouts at her cutely.

"_I'm_ the one who needs to hide here! My _life_ is at stake!" He says, and then looks around him frantically as if something would jump at them at any minute. "Those fangirls are super scary…" He tells her spookily. "If they catch me they'll… they'll…"

Suddenly, the ground trembles as if there is an earthquake. Sora's entire body freezes, quickly realizing what's going on.

An eerie silence spreads through their surroundings, just like the silence before the storm. And storm is right; more than half of the girls in their school can be seen running right towards them from the distance. Sora's eyes widen in horror. He instinctively grabs Naminé's arm and drags her down with him behind a nearby bush.

Naminé, who is still hiding her face behind the sketchbook, remains motionless, crawled down next to Sora behind the bush. He carefully takes a peek at the fangirls scanning the area.

"Where did he gooooo?" The fangirls wail while searching around them.

"Let's tie him up with a rope so he won't escape next time!" One of them exclaims, earning cries of approval. Then they run off to search somewhere else.

Sora gives a long sigh of relief, and then turns toward the visibly shaking Naminé.

"They're gone now! We're safe!" He happily exclaims, reaching out to pull the sketchbook away from her face. But she resists and tries pulling her sketchbook off his hand before making her escape.

"HEY! I just wanna see your face!" The brown head cries in semi-annoyance while pulling the sketchbook harder.

Naminé whimpers at the contact. She's surprised he's actually paying attention to her existence. She's been prepared to completely ignore his presence, and for him to completely ignore hers. This is definitely _not_ expected.

"Naminé!" A man's voice calls out from afar; whoever it is has made the blonde panic, and caused her to drop her sketchbook.

Sora is left speechless when he finally saw her face. He gawks at her idiotically, mesmerized. She is breathtakingly beautiful to him, not a flaw visible. Everything about her, every inch, seems to shine.

Naminé, however, doesn't like the extra attention he is giving her, so she turns around swiftly and runs away toward the direction of the voice in a hurry, noticing her ride come around the corner.

As soon as Sora realizes what's going on, he stretches his hand in front of him.

"WAIT!" He yells after her. But she is long gone. He sweat-drops comically. "Th-That...That was _fast_!"

As he watches her diminishing figure head towards the vehicle, his big ocean blue eyes are wide open; certain questions start to haunt his thoughts...

_"Who is this girl? Why haven't I seen her before...?"_

_xxxxxxxxxxx_

_Next day, in English class…_

Sora enters the classroom while yawning lazily. As he makes his way towards his seat, his eyes fall upon _her _automatically.

He stands there, in what appears to be a daze, and slowly waits for his brain to start functioning. The memory part, if one wants to be precise. Then he suddenly remembers her, in a short flashback, _finally_, and his eyes snap wide open.

"_THAT GIRL!_" He shouts inwardly in his mind.

Then he walks towards her, casually. The fangirls watch his every step, curiosity clear in their eyes. When he is right in front of Naminé's desk, he smiles friendly at her.

The fangirls are practically seething with jealousy by now. If looks could kill, Naminé would be long dead.

"Um... Hi!" He scratches the back of his head sheepishly, a goofy grin on his face. "I'm Sora!"

The whole class is silent and watching the event in awe. This only made Naminé feel tenser, enough that she can't speak.

She is visibly shaking; her face is as red as Kairi's hair. But Sora, being Sora, is oblivious to it all. She opens her mouth to say something, _can't_, closes it tight, then looks down at her sketchbook and nervously resumes drawing in attempt to ease her stress.

"..." Sora eyes her strangely for a while, confused.

"_How rude!"_He thinks while walking away to his previous seat, feeling _incredibly_ annoyed that she's totally ignored him for some reason, _"She is one of those stuck-up girls I bet!"_

_xxxxxxxxxxx_

In the fourth period, Sora enters his other classroom and freezes at the doorstep, a shocked expression on his face when he recognizes a certain blond at the back of the classroom.

"_OK, this is getting way creepy..."_

Curious, he decides to _try_ and get to know her better. Even if she ignores him, he'll just have to try harder. So he walks to where she is sitting at the back of the class. He places a hand on the chair next to hers while displaying his best friendly smile down at her, making the fangirls momentarily snap out of their envy and squeal.

"Um hey, mind if I sit next to you?" He asks Naminé friendly.

She looks up at him, eyes staring at his chest instead of his face, and then turns away quickly, shrugging a bit.

_"W-Why you!"_ His left eye twitches comically in annoyance. "_She is treating me like I'm wasting her time!" _He returns to his original seat in a huff and ignores the one next to her.

_xxxxxxxxxxx_

It is PE, and Sora is in the middle of a basketball match with his team, some sort of training for an upcoming match. The others sit on the benches surrounding the court. Later, as the match continues, the ball flies off and lands next to Naminé, who is currently sitting on one of the far back benches. Sora runs to get it, he picks it up, and notices Naminé sitting nearby, completely absorbed in her drawing like usual.

_"WE'RE IN THE SAME CLASS...__**AGAIN**__? This is BEYOND creepy!"_He cringes comically, and then narrows his eyes at her figure, just to check if she's really there or if he's just imagining things. Yep. _She's there_.

He struggles to form a smile. "S-Soo… we share PE too huh? A-Awesome..."

"…"

"…Right?" Sora adds quietly in dismay, his smile wavering.

Naminé finally looks up at him, briefly; He is standing not too far in front of her. She starts fidgeting, subconsciously grabbing the edges of her sketchbook tighter toward her chest. Sora notes this, but thinks it's just her being weird again. He sighs inwardly, thinking it's hopeless.

Meanwhile, Naminé notices the distant fangirls, glaring quietly at her in the background, a clear warning that meant "**Stay away from our Sora!**", and begins to panic. So then she tries to escape the attention, by once again ignoring Sora completely and getting back to her drawing in what seems to be a huff.

Sora totally misunderstands the situation again. Frowning as he runs back to his teammates out on the field, he concludes dejectedly, "_She __**hates **__me. That's all there is to it. But... _**Why**? _What did I ever do to her...?"_

_xxxxxxxxxxx_

Sora's curiosity with Naminé's behavior toward him starts to grow as days pass, to the point that he decides to make an attempt to ask one of her friends about it. Problem is, he never sees her with _anyone_.

She's always alone in class. Come lunchtime, she disappears. He's tried looking around for her, but she's nowhere to be found. All he _does_ know about her so far is her name; Naminé, that she's also in _all _his classes, and that she's a top student and the teachers favorite. But, to everyone else, she is always incredibly quiet –almost mute – and very strange.

In the end, he decides to ask his best friends about her. So while they're at their lockers, Sora turns slightly to face Kairi and Riku.

"Hey, um, guys... do you... know a girl named Naminé?" He asks as casually as he can while getting out his books.

Kairi and Riku blink, look at each other oddly, and then back to him.

"Wasn't she the girl who beat Riku in Dodge Ball?" Riku's eyes twitch when Kairi mentions that. Lately, that's what everyone is teasing him about. _Especially_ Yuffie. She'll pop up out of nowhere and laugh at his face so much that Riku is beginning to despise the blonde hair girl who has done the near impossible: shatter his pride.

Sora's eyes widen curiously. "She was? I-I see... I guess it makes sense then. What else do you know about her?"

Kairi shrugs while Riku shakes his head.

Sora's shoulders slump disappointedly. "_No luck…"_

He has already asked half the school by now. But so far, none of them know about her. Some doesn't even know she attend the same school, let alone exist!

_xxxxxxxxxxx_

The bell rings during Sora and Naminé's Math's Class. The students start leave one by one. Sora is still sitting in his seat however, which to everyone, is odd.

Naminé, who is currently preparing to leave the room and head towards their next class, overhears the fangirls ask Sora what's wrong, they flock around his table like bees attracted to honey.

Sora simply shakes his head at them and states calmly, nearly without any expression, that he'll be there in a few they should go ahead of him. The fangirls giggle happily and obey, only because Sora finally spoke to them.

"_How ironic…"_ Sora thinks while sweat-dropping. "_The girls I want to speak to me ignore me completely and the ones that I don't want anything to do with won't leave me alone!"_

Sora is starting to understand how the fangirls must feel when he ignores them.

Naminé, meanwhile, is utterly suspicious at his response; she starts to think of every possible reason on _why _he's staying. She's always the last to leave in every class, but Sora is stubbornly glued to his seat. As if he is waiting for someone...

She scans the classroom, but there's no one here but the both of them now. She looks at the back of his seated figure, and gulps nervously.

_"Is he waiting for __**me**__...?"_

Lately this morning, he keeps stalking her everywhere around the school, for whatever reason Naminé doesn't even want to know about. She has to hide to avoid him.

She must escape now too. But _how_?

Her seat is too far from the door, since it's in the back of the class. And he's in the way... She can _not_ escape him!

So she starts panicking... He'll probably ambush her when she passes by him.

She considers escaping through the window, but it's impossible, since it's the 2nd floor. And besides, Naminé can't attempt such a bold act. It'll attract attention and will also make her look ridiculous.

Afraid and a bit stubborn, Naminé decides to stay where she is until he leaves.

Hopefully, he _will_leave. Maybe he's just lazying about, Naminé thinks hopefully. But just in case, she won't walk into a potential trap. _No way._

Sora, on the other hand, is being just as stubborn as she is. "_She can't escape me this time! Muwahahahaha!" _He cackles inwardly while trying to adapt Riku's trademark smirk, but failing at it.

Determined, he finally stands up, turns around, and walks firmly toward a now visibly alarmed Naminé.

_"Oh no... Here he comes! What should I do? Uh... Uhm... I'll pretend I didn't see him!"_

She brings forth her sketchbook, her only escape, and starts drawing random stuff to ease her stress.

But then, Sora appears in front of her and snatches the sketchbook out of her grasp.

"OH NO, YOU DON'T! I'm _NOT_ going to let you draw and pretend I'm not there again!" He yells angrily.

She flinches at his sudden move, eyes wide.

"Why do you hate me so much? Please tell me!" He is looking at her pleadingly at the moment, but, for Naminé, his face is too close for comfort. She can't even register a word he's just said.

She moves back, and stares at him blankly for awhile, trying hard to calm herself. She opens her mouth to utter something, Sora anticipates, leaning in, but the words won't come out of Naminé's mouth, so she closes it again, feeling miserable inside.

Sora is completely pissed off at this stage; he smacks her desk with his two fists, shouting; "STOP MAKING WEIRD FACES!" Naminé's entire body shudders violently at his reaction. She is about to cry.

Sora feels extremely remorseful when he notices her eyes filling up with tears.

"Whoa... wait...are you… are you going to cry...?" Subconsciously, he extends his hands toward her face, but she brushes it off, bending her head low so he won't see it, then stands up abruptly, snatches back her sketchbook from him and runs out the classroom as fast as she can.

"WAIT! I'm sorry! Please, listen!" He yells out after her, rushing toward the classroom's doorway.

The hallway's completely empty in both directions.

"_Too late… She's way too fast…"_ Sora lets his hand fall miserably down at his side. He remembers her tearful expression and frowns guiltily.

_"I made her cry...I'm the __**worst**__..."_

_xxxxxxxxxxx_

The class after it, PE, Naminé isn't there. Sora's eyes search around for her, at the usual furthest bench she's mostly seen sitting on.

Not there.

He frowns deeper and lets out a miserable sigh, feeling extremely guilty. He isn't used to hurting other people's feelings like this.

The fangirls gather around, gazing worriedly at him. "Is something wrong, Sora?" They ask in union, concern evident in their voice.

He shakes his head absentmindedly, and leaves them to join Riku and Kairi.

_"I have to apologize to her the next time I see her, _definitely_..."_

_xxxxxxxxxxx_

_Later at the infirmary..._

"Feeling better?" Tifa asks with a smile, cupping Naminé's face gently.

Naminé forces a small smile, nodding a bit.

Tifa's motherly smile stretches. "Good!" She backs away and sits straight on her chair. "Now... promise me you'll talk to Sora and show him that you're not weird."

Naminé shakes her head vehemently. "No! I-I'm scared of him..."

Tifa stifles a giggle. Scared? Of _**Sora**_? She shakes her head when she sees how serious Naminé is being. Tifa knows all that has happened, Naminé has told her everything. But because she knows Sora too well, she doesn't think that this it is a problem at all. In fact, she sees it as an opportunity for Naminé to open up and get new friends.

"You shouldn't be! Sora is one of the nicest boys I know in this school!" She says, trying to assure the blond.

Naminé is being stubborn, however. "He yelled at me... And said I make weird faces! How mean..." She tilts her head to the other side and pouts cutely, causing Tifa to chuckle.

"Come on, Naminé! Put yourself in his position. Of course he'd think you're weird! You haven't spoken to him, have you?"

Naminé shakes her head slowly.

"See, that's why! You just have to prove to him that you're a perfectly normal girl."

Naminé stares down at her lap. "I... I don't want to talk to him..." She mumbles, fidgeting with her school skirt.

Tifa sighs. "You have to. You _need_ to have some friends!"

Naminé shakes her head again. "I'd rather be alone..."

Tifa sighs heavier. _"She sure is Cloud's daughter; stubborn and solitary,"_ Tifa thinks, a small smile tracing her lips. She caresses Naminé's cheek, a distant look in her eyes. "How is your father these days?"

The blond smiles heartily; Tifa's the only person who she can ever consider being closest to a mother figure to her. "He's fine."

Tifa's entire face brightens immensely. "I'm glad."

The bell rings, and she automatically checks her wristwatch.

"You have Science now, right? You gotta hurry! No skipping two classes in one day!" She says, a playful smile on her face.

Naminé returns her smile, feeling much better now.

"Okay!" She's ready to leave when Tifa's voice stops her.

"You _will_ try to talk to Sora, right?"

"..."

"For me?" Tifa tries to coax her with one of her innocent smiles.

Naminé looks down in defeat. "I-I'll _try_..."

Tifa grins wider, if possible, and then turns back to her work. Naminé leaves and closes the door behind her.

"_Hold on! Science class...__**him**__... LAB PARTNER!"_ She freezes when realization hit her, eyes wide in horror.

_"There's no escaping him... is there?"_ She sighs miserably in her head, closes her eyes, inhales deeply, and then slowly walks toward her Science class. Her heart beating faster with every step…

_xxxxxxxxxxx_

Sora is expecting Naminé at Science class.

He is nervously kicking the floor under his seat repeatedly. The teacher looks pretty annoyed at this, she lowers her glasses and glares at Sora, who is unmindful to it, and has his eyes fixed on the door instead, waiting eagerly for a certain blond to show up.

"_Please be here, please be here, please be here..."_He keeps chanting in his head.

Then, to his fortune, Naminé finally comes in, her eyes fixated on the floor shyly.

Sora grins, overjoyed that she's here. The teacher excuses Naminé and welcomes her in. The blond nods a bit, and heads toward her seat, passing by Sora on the way, but dares not to look at him, or anyone else for that matter, and keeps her head bowed down.

The teacher then demands everyone sits next to their respective lab partner. Naminé and Sora are anxious for different reasons; she knows who her partner is and how the majority of the class – _fangirls_ - won't be happy about it, while Sora is afraid that his partner is another fangirl.

He is relieved however when Naminé turns out to be his partner.

_"Not a fangirl, YES!" _He stands up and punches the air, grinning like an idiot, whereas Naminé's head prostrates in despair. _"Why him…?"_

The fangirls snort at the blonde, mentally registering her in their black list. A dark aura forming around them as Sora walks giddily toward his partner, at the back of the class. He is clearly elated it's Naminé. Now he's fangirl-free _AND_ he has a chance to apologize to Naminé for earlier. Must be his lucky day. If it all goes well, she'll forgive him, they'll be friends, and he'll finally get rid of this guilty feeling, he hopes, grinning to himself as he reaches his seat next to Naminé's.

_A few minutes later…_

It is awkward. For the both of them. The air is thick and tense, both of them are avoiding eye-contact, even the usually bold, blunt and outgoing Sora is feeling a little shy for some odd reason, which he can't seem to comprehend.

They make the experiment the teacher instructed them to do together in complete silence. Naminé does most of the work though, because Sora is clueless about everything. They get an A; Sora's first official A, he is so proud, so he turns around to thank Naminé, finally breaking the silence.

"Thanks!" He exclaims happily, a stupid grin on his face.

She is taken aback. Her eyes flutter throughout the class. Another panic attack. She tries to collect her courage and say something back, her bottom lip quivering as she attempts to utter a word.

Sora's left eye twitches again when he notices her 'act weird' again.

"Why are you so weird like that?" He finally says out loud, exasperated. The whole class turns their head in their direction.

"Speak to me! Say anything! Curse at me! I won't mind! Just _SPEAK_!"

She merely looks at him, trembling, about to attempt at speaking again, he expects the moment eagerly, but instead, she closes her mouth shut and looks the other way in defeat. She tries reaching for her sketchbook, her escape...

He advances obstinately, takes away the sketchbook again, and looks down at her small figure softly. "Look, I'm sorry! For whatever I did, I'M SORRY! Can you forgive me now?"

She simply stares at his chest, unable to form words, silently feeling disappointed with herself.

"SPEAK, OR I WON'T GIVE IT BACK!" He holds the sketchbook up like a hostage.

_Silence_.

Then the bell rings, at the worst time, for Sora at least. She snatches her book from him by force, while he's in a daze, and runs out.

Sora simply stares at the empty space she is standing on just a minute ago, and then at the wall in front of him.

"I don't care! Do I look like I care? 'Cause I don't! Not a bit! Why are you looking at me like that?" He punches the wall, obviously bothered.

Everyone present at the classroom sweat-drops.

_"He's gone nuts!"_

The fangirls huff in union again, as if they're one being, "Why would he go nuts over that freak?"

_xxxxxxxxxxx_

Sora makes up his mind: he's going to ignore Naminé completely.

Why should he bother himself with her anymore? She doesn't seem to care, so why should he?

But, even though he keeps telling himself that, inwardly, he is burning with curiosity that he is literally boiling inside, he just has this annoying need to speak with her, to hear her voice, to get to know her better, to find out why she hates him, but he is desperately trying to suppress it.

He goes to hang out with his friends during lunchtime, in the cafeteria, trying to forget all about the blonde.

Kairi takes note on how quiet Sora is being; he's standing a bit farther back in the cafeteria line, a blank expression on his face.

She nudges Riku's shoulder and whispers, "Look, he's in deep thought."

Riku, who's been flirting with the girl in front of him in the line, is annoyed of the interruption, but when he glances back at Sora, he raises an eyebrow in disbelief.

"This is serious," he says almost nonchalantly.

Kairi smirks. "I TOLD you! He _is_ serious about this girl. Kairi's eyes never fail!"

Riku shakes his head at her and walks away with his tray, Kairi hisses at him to come back, but he ignores her and heads toward their table with his new girl friend of the week/month. Depends on how look she can keep him interested.

So Kairi is left to confront Sora by herself. She walks toward him and smiles when he looks up at her curiously.

"What's on your mind?" She asks, unable to keep herself from winking.

He shakes his head slowly. "Nothing..."

Kairi pouts, narrowing her eyes at him irritatedly. "SPIT IT OUT!" She yells, smacking him in the head like she usually does.

He winces at the impact, and answers while sighing. "It's Naminé... I can't get her out of my head…"

Kairi grins from ear to ear.

"I KNEW IT!" She exclaims happily, stifling a squeal.

Sora goes defensive all of a sudden. "But it's not like that! She doesn't like me OK? Now will you forget it already?"

The cupid inside Kairi bursts free.

"Ooh, unrequited love huh, my specialty..." She purrs.

Sora sweat-drops. "I've never even had a normal conversation with her!"

Kairi blinks, raising an eyebrow. "Eh? How come? Don't you two share every period together?"

Sora sighs, nodding.

"Then how come?"

"She acts like I'm a _nobody_! It's driving me mad!" He exclaims, scowling, and pointing a clenched fist at Kairi's face for some reason. "I'm not used to this! I-It's like… you meet someone for the first time... and they start hating you without any reason!"

She nods at him viciously, thinking that she needs to make some investigations regarding Naminé, for Sora's sake, taking the role of matchmaker already.

"Does she hate me because I'm an idiot and my grades are bad unlike hers? Is that it?" He ruffles his head frustratedly. "I don't know… but I _need_ to know! It's driving me crazy!"

Kairi turns away from Sora, and nods again to herself determinedly. _"Sora is _**way **_dense. He doesn't know it's because he _likes _her. That's why he cares!"_

_xxxxxxxxxxx_

_Later, the next day, during PE…_

Kairi has just finished changing in the girls lockers, she turns around to leave when she recognizes Naminé standing not too far, facing her own locker.

Kairi studies Naminé's figure with fascination, and the first thought that comes up in her mind is... "Beautiful".

She's never thoroughly noticed her before, but now that she sees her as a potential love interest for Sora, her best friend... Things changed. Sora, in all the years she spent with him, hasn't shown any particular interest for a girl, not until now. That's why she is so excited for her friend.

Kairi observes as some fangirls make their way confidently toward Naminé, who looks at them questioningly, terrified out of her wits. The girls glower nastily at her.

"Stop flirting around with Sora! He doesn't like freaky girls like _you_!"

Then they purposely hit Naminé's shoulder with theirs as they pass her, laughing snobbishly.

Kairi watches it all happen, though she can't hear what they're talking about, she gets extremely furious with how they treat Naminé. She angrily marches toward Naminé's side, and yells back at the bullies, "HEY! YOU! WHY THE HECK DID YOU HIT HER!"

They turn to glare at Kairi, their expression hateful, but then they ignore her, taking her school status in consideration, and walk off while snorting.

Kairi is still glaring at their retreating figures. Then she turns and smiles at Naminé, who is staring wide-eyed at the whole thing.

Kairi Kimaru, the most popular girl at school is _talking_ to her! Why does fate insist she stays in the spotlight? Like she needs more attention then she already has... she only seems to be walking into more trouble.

The red-head extends her hands out for the blond, and says sweetly, "Hey there… I'm Kairi! About time we got to know each other!" She winks.

Naminé hesitantly takes her hand, and shakes it nervously.

Kairi's expression becomes firm. "Don't let them treat you like that again, OK? Fight back!" She gives Naminé a pat on the back, Naminé smiles in return and nods a little while blushing timidly.

"Th-th-thank y-you," She manages to stutter out, inwardly proud of herself for being able to say anything at all.

Suddenly, the coach yells at them to hurry up from outside.

Naminé makes her way to the door, only to be stopped by Kairi. "He can wait a while! Don't worry; he won't do anything to us anyway, except maybe yell at us to hurry again, but anyway, your name is Naminé... right?"

Naminé slowly nods, thinking, "_How does she know my name? I've never talked to her before!"_

Kairi's about to say something else when the coach bellows for them to hurry and get their butts out there. She rolls her eyes and heads towards the door, signaling for Naminé to follow after her. She has certain _things_ to ask the blond...

Naminé nervously follows. _"Why is she paying attention to me? Why does she want me to follow? Oh God why do the popular people have to pay attention to me?"_

Kairi smiles reassuringly, taking Naminé's hand and dragging her along. "Come _on_, we gotta hurry before the Coach makes a scene!"

_xxxxxxxxxxx_

Sora and Riku, meanwhile, are waiting for Kairi on a bench near the field. When Kairi finally shows up, Sora's eyes nearly bulge out when he sees Naminé at her side.

Riku looks at them keenly and comments, "That's the chick who owned me in Dodge Ball... Well, she has the looks, so I don't mind."

Sora shakes his head at him, and then forces himself to focus on the ball he's playing with between his legs to distract himself instead.

"She's weird," he mumbles, pretending not to care.

"Uh-huh," Riku smirks at him teasingly.

Later, the guys are playing basketball while the girls have volleyball. Kairi and Naminé are sitting on the benches, though.

Sora is dying to know what Kairi is saying to Naminé, and why the hell Naminé is _smiling_ back at her, AND _**TALKING**_! Why won't she do that in front of _HIM_? That dazzling and breathtaking smile…..

_"Wait a minute… WHY SHOULD I CARE? I do NOT care!" _He shakes his head again, and throws his ball at the basket, but misses.

He glances at Riku by his side, whose entire look seems to tease him. "_Kairi __must've told him," _Sora concludes with a pout.

He then catches Yuffie looking at him too, at the other side of the field, with the same teasing way.

He mentally screams, a vein propping on his forehead,_"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THEM! DID KAIRI TELL THE WORLD?"_

He glares daggers at Kairi's figure, and when she turns around and spots him looking at her, she grins innocently in return; he shoots her a 'wait-till-I-get-you-after-class' glare. She's able to decipher it, because her figure seems to be laughing now.

_xxxxxxxxxxx_

He corners Kairi outside the PE gym.

"WHAT DID YOU TELL HER?"

Kairi innocently says, "Nothing," while suppressing a grin.

"Really?"

"Of course!"

Sora sighs with relief.

Kairi smirks. "Sora, are you... _shy_?"

Sora throws a fit, blushing abundantly. "NO! Why would I be? I don't _like_ her! I don't have _any_ feelings for her!"

"Okay, okay, chill! Denial much?" She says while laughing.

He grits his teeth. "GRR! I'M GOING TO CLASS!" He stomps off, pouting to himself as he hears Kairi still laughing.

_xxxxxxxxxxx_

_Later, during Art Class…_

Sora notices, as soon as he enters the classroom, that the seat next to Naminé is empty.

_"What are you _**thinking**_, Sora! YOU __DON'T __CARE! Why would you want to sit next to her?"_He's having this inner conversation with himself, making weird faces in the midst of it all. His classmates sweat-drop, but don't mind it. Sora is loveable any way he behaves. Him being a clown is one of the things that everyone adores about him.

_"Well…" Sora continues thinking in his head. "It shouldn't matter, right? It's just a seat, besides, I'm only sitting next to her because she isn't a fan girl, and it would be less annoying. Yeah, _**that's **_why I'll sit next to her!"_ He nods firmly, obviously trying to convince himself.

He walks toward Naminé reluctantly, she notices him coming, and looks up; he flashes his idiotic grin at her. She merely looks back quickly at her sketchbook like usual.

He pouts, and then slumps down in his chair in a huff and looks the other way, mentally yelling, "_FINE! BE THAT WAY! I SHOULDN'T HAVE BOTHERED!"_

He takes a peek at her after a few seconds pass, but she's completely oblivious to his existence, causing him to pout deeper and sink childishly in his seat, "_If she ignores me, I'll ignore her back! Let's see if she likes that!"_

Sora starts out drawing a sketch with his pencil. He 'accidentally' breaks it and turns to Naminé. "I'm only asking for a pencil since mine broke. Hey um," He loses words when she turns to face him; lost in her eyes, "Uh... I b-broke my pencil… d-do you have a spare?" He manages to find his voice.

The fan girls glare at Naminé in the background. Naminé fidgets, faces the other direction and then offers him a pencil in a hurry.

Sora thinks that she thinks that he is bothersome and trying to get rid of him. He glares at her in annoyance, but she's still facing away from him at the opposite direction instead. He takes the pencil from her slowly, and then faces the other way from her too, sulking to himself.

Class carries on, but something is burning more intensely than ever inside Sora.

Curiosity. For _that_ girl.

He tries to fight the growing curiosity. _"I'M IGNORING HER DAMMIT!"_ But then he gets a flashback of Kairi and Naminé smiling and talking to each other previously, in PE.

He feels irritated.

And _jealous_.

Of Kairi.

_Why won't she talk to him? What's wrong with him? Why does she hate him...?_


	3. Witch has a name: Isabella

Chapter 3

**Kairi's POV**

Starbucks is packed with people when Sora, Riku and I enter. The noise is echoing across the walls, and it seems that all the seats are taken. But I quickly spot our favorite table, empty, and rush to it before anyone else can occupy it.

I instantly remember my previous investigation regarding Namine, so I message Yuffie through my cell phone to meet us here to report further updates.

Meanwhile Sora is devouring a chocolate cake to fix his bad mood… And he refuses to share with me! I start complaining that I want a share of the damn cake to Riku, but he just rolls his eyes, going back to texting one of his girlfriends! The nerve!

"Riku! Sora is selfish and won't share the cake with me!" I whine, staring hungrily at Sora's cake.

"MY CAKE!" Sora growls with a mouthful while sheltering his plate.

"Ew! Don't speak with your mouth full, you're disgusting!" I scold, revolted.

Riku sighs. "Play nice, kids." He says, his eyes still fixed on his damned cell phone.

"RIKU!" I snap, glaring at him threateningly.

Riku sighs again and looks up at Sora. "Sora, what did we say about sharing?"

Sora appears to be like a kid getting scolded, he looks down at the cake sadly. "Fine…" He mutters in defeat and pushes the plate toward me. I grin triumphantly in return. The brunette pouts childishly and looks the other way.

I start to feel kind of guilty. "We can still _share_!" I offer coaxingly.

"Ew! I'm not eating after you!"

Ungrateful, unworthy son of a –

"What's wrong with eating after me?" I demand, growling.

XXX

**Riku's POV**

Sometimes I feel like a parent...

I sigh deeper_,_ and then push my plate toward Sora.

"Here, you can have mine."

Sora grins joyfully. "ALRIGHT! Thanks Riku!"

Kairi gets angrier, I feel bad for her.

"You eat after Riku but not after _me_? Why!" She yells at Sora..

"Girls have cooties!" He answers 'coolly'.

Seriously, why am I friends with them again...?

Kairi and I sweat drop.

"What are you, _five_? Grow up, Sora," I tell him, shaking my head at his immatureness.

"Shut up!"

Nice comeback, Sora.

"Hey guys!" Yuffie waves from afar, running toward our table.

This will be interesting. Finally. I've just started feeling a little bored.

"Hey, Yuff!" Kairi smiles while Sora says Hi through a mouthful, causing Yuffie to sweat-drop, and then she notices me, frowns, and looks back at Sora, completely ignoring my existence. I merely roll my eyes; I'm used to this treatment. It amuses me, actually.

Since Sora and Kairi are sitting next to each other, the only seat empty is the one next to me. Yuffie looks at it, then at me, and scowls instantly. I smirk. Yuffie's reactions are always so refreshing to watch and amusing to me.

"Have a seat," I pat the chair next to me while smirking 'innocently'.

We share a glaring contest for a while, until she finally gives in and sits on the very edge of the chair next to me, as away from me as possible while glaring sideways in my direction in a way I find funny.

I suppress an amused grin.

"Err, so what's new?" Kairi exclaims suddenly with a weak smile.

Yuffie snaps out of her glare and grins at Sora and Kairi, well Sora specifically.

"Rumors going around that you have a thing for Naminé!" Yuffie exclaims excitedly, raising a suggestive eyebrow at Sora.

"I DO NOT!" Sora barks, spitting out food in the process and earning a disgusted look from Kairi. Heh. The loser.

This is interesting… Something to tease Sora about.

"The blond with Kairi in PE?" I ask Yuffie, but she continues ignoring me. Oh well. I take out my cell phone to check a new message.

Kairi giggles. "He's just curious why she ignores him. Right, Sora?" She tries to help him out. Even though she knows that's not the truth…

"Yeah, exactly! She's so weird," Sora says.

"Uh-huh. Whatever you say…" Yuffie snickers.

I stop texting on my cellphone and look up at Yuffie curiously. "What started those rumors?"

Yuffie shoots me a silent glare, but Kairi answers for her, "One of the fangirls saw him stalk her around the hallways."

Sora cringes while Yuffie and I laugh out loud.

"Sora's a stalkerrr!" Yuffie sing-songs. I notice as Kairi tries to suppress a teasing smile.

I glance at Sora as he pounds on the table with his fork protestingly. "I-I wasn't! I was only trying to figure out why she ignores me!"

I smirk. "Well, Sora, from my experience with girls... She probably likes you but trying to play hard to get…" I glance at Yuffie and shoot her a wider smirk.

She sends me a death glare while sticking out her tongue. "Go die!" She hisses.

I simply chuckle a bit at her response. She's _so_ into me.

Kairi sweat drops, and then shakes her head, "Nah, I don't think so. She looks like the timid type..."

XXX

**General POV**

Then a tall, slutty looking blond swings their way and stands closely by Sora's seat, "Hey Sora…" She purrs his name sluttishly.

Sora shivers nervously, smiling weakly while mumbling a faint, "Hey…"

Kairi glares at her hatefully; they've been enemies since pre-school, their hatred for each other only magnified once Kairi has gotten closer to Sora and became his best friend.

"Leave us alone, Isabella!" The red-head hisses, angry at the fact that the intruder is flirting so shamelessly with Sora, who's clearly uncomfortable with her presence.

The tall blond named Isabella glares back at Kairi.

"Why? _Jealous_?" She mocks with a snotty look on her face.

Kairi snorts. "Of you? Dream on."

The rest just glare at Isabella, except Sora who's looking away, looking _incredibly_ uncomfortable, because Isabella is none other than the head and leader of his fanclub.

Isabella rolls her eyes. "Whatever. I'm here for Sora, not to chitchat with _you _bitch!" She looks back at Sora, hugging his neck from behind. He shudders because of her touch. He is _so_ disgusted with her now, but he's too nice to push her off and humiliate her in public.

Kairi's eyes narrow into slits at the sight. She stands up abruptly, always the one to pull out Sora from the clutches of fangirls, especially shameless ones like Isabella. "Let him go! He doesn't like you in that way, _okay_?"

"He seems to like it!" Isabella retorts, smirking down at the brunette. "Right, Sora?" She whispers in his hair.

_Now_ he's reached his max. He stands up and quickly untangles himself from the blond. "No, I don't. It creeps me out. Please, just… leave me alone…" He says quietly.

Yuffie and Riku stifle a snicker while Kairi smirks triumpthantly at Isabella, who huffs in return.

"Fine!" She turns and stomps off angrily. "See you later, _whore_!" She yells back at Kairi before exiting the cafe.

"What a bitch…" Kairi hisses angrily while sitting back down.

"I hate her..." Yuffie adds with a disgusted expression.

"Went on a date with her once…" Riku mutters while using his cellphone. "Boring. All she wants to talk about is Sora."

Yuffie glares at him sideways hatefully. "You're such a manwhore Prick."

XXX

**Namine's POV**

I find an abandoned classroom, not far from my next class, I take a seat in the back-row, a growing habit, and then quietly begin to draw. I love this kind of atmosphere, peace and quiet. No one surrounding me, all alone with my sketchbook at hand…

My escape to another world, _my world_. A world where I can forget about school, my inability to socialize with others, where I can free myself from all worries. My fingers dance around my sketchbook. I gaze outside the lone classroom's window, students chatter outside, oblivious to my existence, just the way I want it.

I smile softly, turning back to my drawing, when all of a sudden the door burst open. I see Kairi run into the room, her faced tear-stained with Riku, Sora and Yuffie following quickly after her, worry evident on their faces.

Goodbye peace and quiet, I inwardly sigh.

Everyone surrounds Kairi as she sobs in the background. Yuffie puts a hand on her back, trying to comfort her. I wonder what happened…

Riku sounds very angry. He is muttering foul swear words every few seconds. Most of them used to curse a girl I know named Isabella. She's the head of Sora's fanclub, and she likes to bully me from time to time…

I look up hesitantly out of curiosity and glance at them. I notice Sora looming over Kairi next to Yuffie with his back to me.

"Those _bitches_!" Riku hisses darkly.

Sora is peeking worriedly at Kairi's face. "Kairi, stop crying, please?"

Yuffie dashes out of the classroom suddenly. "I'm going to report this to the principle! Take care of Kairi OK?" She cries out before leaving.

"Kairi, tell us what happened!" Sora demands, looking pleadingly at the red-head. He is clearly as oblivious to the matter as I am.

Between sobs, she is able to tell that someone wrote that she's a whore in the school's courtyard, for everyone to see.

As she finishes, she breaks into a new fit of sobs. Riku demands to know who the bitches are, apparently so he can cross them out of some sort of list. Kairi replies and says she doesn't know, but her guess is that it is one of Sora's mass of fangirls.

I try to remain invisible when, suddenly, I notice Riku's eyes glance at my direction. If he tells them I'm here, Sora will be sure to pressure me again. So I hunch myself closer together, clutching my sketchbook closer to me.

"Hey, she might tell on us…" I hear Riku say.

Is he talking about me? God, I hope not… Maybe they mean someone else...

"Nah, don't worry… She barely even speaks!" Sora replies bluntly.

Now I _KNOW_ they are talking about me...

They seem to lose interest in me after a chair scraped the floor, I notice Kairi wiping the tears away from her face, determination overshadowing all else.

"Are you going to be OK? Kairi?" Sora asks softly.

Kairi nods while grinning playfully. "Yeah, I'm going to show those bullies what I'm made of!"

The boys chuckle at her response. I hide a smile behind my sketchbook.

"That's the Kairi that we know! Now **SMILE**!" Sora flashes his idiotic grin at her. Kairi bursts out laughing while Riku suppresses a grin.

I admit to myself that his loyalty and kindness to his friends is admirable to anyone...

XXX

**Namine's POV**

The classes pass by and before I know it, the lunch bell rings. All the students evacuate to the cafeteria. I try to keep out of the crowd and head towards the rooftop, my usual place during lunch or breaks.

While I start eating my sandwich, with sketchbook at my side, I notice Riku and two other random guys before me arguing. I haven't noticed them come up to the rooftop.

Worriedly, I place back my sandwich in my lunch bag. The arguing becomes louder. It looks like a fight is about to break loose. I pale.

Behind them, I notice Sora, Kairi and _Isabella_.

Riku is shouting something at the two boys, who seem to be Isabella's henchmen, standing protectively in front of her.

I flinch at the sight of Isabella... she hates me, ever since she found out Sora's my science partner and that he is paying attention to me… but it's not like I asked him to, or even wanted this to happen!

"YOU'RE the bitch who wrote that stuff about Kairi!" Riku exclaims angrily. That doesn't seem to surprise me; everyone knows that Isabella and Kairi hate each other. "One of the girls in my fanclub told me! Don't bother denying!" He marches toward her, but Sora him Riku back.

"Riku, calm down! We didn't come up here to fight!" Sora tries to reason with his friend.

Riku pushes him out of the way violently in uncontrollable rage. "I CAN'T BELIEVE I EVER DATED YOU!"

I panic and shrink back, moving closer to the wall... I really despise fights...

Kairi is screaming, "RIKU! STOP IT! STOP!"

Sora tries holding back Riku from lunging at Isabella and her henchmen again, who snicker at them.

"So you're planning on letting your boyfriends fight for you _whore?_" Isabella teases Kairi.

"Shut up!" Kairi snaps. "When will you start being so jealous, Isabella? It's pathetic!"

Isabella's face turns a million shades of red out of rage; I gulp hard, terrified as she lunges at Kairi to attack her.

Sora tries to protect Kairi and so he pushes Isabella away from his friend instinctively. Isabella stumbles and her head collides with the wall hashly, causing her to instantly fall unconscious...

Everyone freezes in horror as Isabella's head starts emitting blood. I tremble hard, my eyes widening in shock... I can't stand blood!

Everyone is staring down at Isabella's body on the ground with utter shock, unable to move.

Kairi pales and covers her mouth. Even Sora is visibly trembling, looking as pale as Kairi.

"I-I didn't.. I didn't mean to..." His voice sounds frightened, and barely hearable.

Suddenly, Mrs. Maleficent comes up the stairs to the rooftop, probably because someone reported about it. She gasps dramatically at the sight of Isabella.

"WHO DID THIS?" I hear her bellow, quivering. I don't like it when a teacher gets angry... "Who harmed this young soul?"

One of the boys point at Sora. "HE DID IT! HE ATTACKED HER FIRST!" He shouts, the other one quickly backs him up by nodding viciously.

"YOU _BASTARDS_!" Riku snaps, taking a vicious step toward them. "DON'T LIE! _SHE_ ATTACKED FIRST! SORA WAS ONLY TRYING TO PROTECT KAIRI!"

I cover my ears and crouch down, closing my eyes. I hate this. I take a peek at Kairi who is trying to comfort Sora, he looks just as scared as I am.

"ENOUGH! Everyone to the principle's office! AT ONCE!" Mrs. Malificent demands angrily as students start to show up, curious to see what's happened. They gasp loudly when they notice Isabella's unconscious body.

I leave amidst the chaos. Class is about to start. Before going, I take a fearful glance back, Kairi is putting her arms around Sora, they're both looking down... I want to defend them….

…But I'm too scared. So I bow my head down and leave in a hurry, swimming through the mass of people unnoticed.

As I enter the class, the bell rings, I sit on my usual seat quickly, and note that, of course, Sora isn't here. I look down at my lap, ashamed. If only I can help them somehow...

XXX

**Kairi's POV**

We are in the principal's office. It's getting late, but the argument is going nowhere; the boys, Isabella's 'loyal' followers, insist that Sora has pushed Isabella first.

But the principle is having a hard time believing it, since Sora is generally known as a nice and friendly person. But Sora himself is admitting the fact that he's attacked her first and that he'll accept the consequences, whatever they are. I frown at him. How can he let himself go down without a fight? And against this bitch? He's too nice sometimes…

Isabella will probably think Sora is doing this because he's trying to protect her, that he likes her or something? Hmph… keep dreaming, bitch…

Since it is getting late, the principle decides to postpone this until tomorrow. Everyone leaves. Isabella's followers glare at us while leaving, smirking confidently. We glare back, Riku is about to cause a fight again, his fist clenched tight by his side, but I put a hand on his shoulder, to calm him down.

"Let it go Riku…" I whisper quietly, giving him a pleading look. Riku shakes his head and walks off in a huff. That was close. I glance back at Sora, he looks pretty miserable. He probably feels very guiltily I frown. Well, Isabella's injury wasn't fatal or something, thank God. She's suffered a minor concussion but woken up few hours later at the infirmary.

We've expected her parents to come and raise hell on us, but they didn't. We've discovered from the principle that Isabella's parents left her to live with her grandmother when she was a kid. Her grandmother's bedridden and too sick to come. I feel sorry for Isabella… well, almost. If it hasn't been for that bitchy attitude of hers.

I try to comfort Sora, but I'm still ragged that they lied about the whole thing. Sora's potentially gonna have his future destroyed. I have to do something!

_Isabella_ _attacked first_. But how are we going to prove it? No one was up there but us…

XXX

**Isabella's POV**

I wake up and find myself in the infirmary, my head is a little sore, but otherwise, I'm fine. I quickly get reminded of the scene up on the roof.

_Sora pushed ME. To save KAIRI._

Ugh, just the thought of it makes me want to _puke_. Why does he like that whore, _I_ SHOULD BE THE ONE IN HER PLACE!

Sora, you idiot! How dare you hurt me for that bitch's sake! I'm going to show them all!

I have to prove that HE was the one who attacked me first, but how...

The answer comes to me instantly. I smirk.

Naminé.

She was up there. The freak is always up there by herself… I'm going to have a word with her...

XXX

**Kairi's POV**

_The Next Day,_

Everyone is worried about Isabella and her injury. Especially the girls in her Sora Fanclub. And, of course, the majority of the guys who are infatuated with that bitch.

"Sora is so mean! How could he do this to you?"

"I never knew Sora is violent! Scary!"

"I can crush him for you, Isabella!"

Isabella laughs innocently and tells them there's no need, she 'forgives' him. They all admire her 'forgiveness'.

Bleh.

Sora, on the other hand, is being despised by nearly the entire school. I feel really sorry for him. People around us are whispering and muttering stuff like: "How could he beat up a girl?"

Poor Sora, he's taking it hard. At this rate, his school status is at risk...

He bangs his head on the locker.

"I'm the worst..." He mumbles, moaning.

I notice Riku come up to us, though he's busy glaring at everyone staring at Sora.

I turn to Sora and pat him encouragingly on the back. "NO YOU'RE NOT! You pushed her to SAVE ME! Where's your self-confidence? Where's that cheerful smile?"

Sora sighs miserably, "I still pushed her..."

I shake my head, exasperated, and drag him toward his next class.

XXX

**Sora's POV**

I'm despised everywhere I go. Like now, during our Art Class, everyone pushes their desks as far away from me as possible. Before, they used to do the opposite…

I sneak a look at the girl beside me whose desk is still where it should be.

Except Naminé... since it _is_ her seat next to mine, ever since I switched places to get to know her better.

I'm grateful because she's the only one who is still treating me the same. Even though it's the silent treatment, but I got used to it...

When she catches me looking at her, I smile thankfully... boy, am I feeling lonely right now...

Naminé, as expected, looks away quickly. I sigh in sadness. Oh right, she hates me too... I AM the worst…

I'm too depressed that I don't notice how hard I'm pushing my pencil... till it eventually broke. _"Crap," _I curse inwardly. Until I notice a pencil being pushed under my face.

I gawk at it, and then look up beside me...

I-It's..._**Naminé**_!

Even when it is for the briefest of moments, she _smiles_ a bit. Very briefly, but I catch it, then she looks away hastily, leaving me still gazing at her in disbelief, my jaw dropping.

Sh-She smiled! AT **ME**! SHE _SMILED_! WHY DO I FEEL LIKE DANCING? WOW! IT'S NOT A DREAM RIGHT?

I'm grinning like an idiot during the rest of the class; I know that she was trying to cheer me up, in her own weird way.

Suddenly, I feel better...

XXX

**Namine's POV**

_PE, at the Gym,_

Sora is alone playing catch with the wall while Kairi and Riku are playing catch with one another. The coach instructed us to play in pairs, or alone. Sora has no other choice but to play with the wall, because of the latest gossip spreading around, the majority of the school hates him, Isabella's been busy, spreading lies on how Sora was the one who started the fight and hit her so mercilessly.

I'm playing alone against the wall at the far side of the gymnasium, when my ball suddenly deflects and impacts harshly with Sora's head. He freezes, slowly turning around to look at his attacker; I gulp, and completely stop pursuing my ball, staring reluctantly at it, as if it will roll back to me by itself.

I'm surprised when Sora picks it up calmly. I look at the ground shyly out of habit when he takes a glance at my direction.

I hear his steps as he walks toward my direction, he raises the ball...I step back; afraid he'll hit me with it in revenge...

He chuckles, catching me off-guard.

"The ball's not gonna hurt you, y'know..." he says, smiling and shoving the ball into my hands gently, and then turning around to resume his game. I breathe out a sigh of relief.

XXX

**Sora's POV**

She most definitely hates me!

Openly attacking me with the ball like that... She must have this deep grudge against me… Sigh. Thank God I was able to control my temper. Hopefully some day, she'll put this grudge behind her and we'll be friends. _Hopefully_.

I stop walking toward my wall, and turn around. "Um... N-Naminé...?"

Man, why am I so shy around her? Pull yourself together, Sora!

Naminé, reluctantly, turns around and looks at me questioningly.

I scratch the back of my head sheepishly. "W-Would you play catch with me?"

"_Please don't walk away…"_ I beg in my head.

She stares at the ground silently for some time. I give up, looking down disappointedly, and begin to turn away, "You know what? Never mind..."

Suddenly, I feel her presence behind me and turn around. She still has her eyes to the ground, though. I blink curiously. "W-What is it?"

Surprisingly, she opens her mouth to say something...

Oh my God! Is she finally going to speak!

I go frantic, my eyes wide in anticipation.

But she closes her mouth, _again_...

A disappointed aura forms around me. It's too good to be true...

My head slumps down disappointedly, but then, all of a sudden, a ball thrust under my face. I look up to find Naminé smiling angelically at me - SHE SMILED AT ME, AGAIN, THE SAME DAY! WOW! - And for some reason, I know exactly what she meant.

I grin. "ALRIGHT! LET'S PLAY!"

I make a distance between us to play catch. I go easy on her the entire time, afraid to upset her, finding this a rare moment that should _not_ be ruined. For some reason, I really want her to like me… NOT like _like_ the way Kairi thinks! I just want her accept me… I wonder why it matters so much, but I ignore it and concentrate on the ball instead.

Naminé easily keeps up with me though, she's really amazing!

XXX

**Kairi's POV**

I nudge Riku over and over, till he gets angry and yells at me impatiently, "WHAT!"

I point at Sora and Naminé playing catch, trying to resist the urge to squeal out loud.

"AREN'T THEY _ADORABLE_? I FEEL SO PROUD!" I wipe a fake tear.

Riku rolls his eyes, "Whatever."

Suddenly a random ball flies and hits Riku square on the head. Everyone stops playing, and watches him in awe, because this is the second epic scene where something uncool happens to Riku, the epitome of coolness. He is blushing from embarrassment. I stifle a laugh, and look the other way, whistling innocently when I sense him glare at me.

He turns around to glare at his attacker, planning to murder 'him' on the spot I bet, but finds _Yuffie_ instead, dancing with victory.

"I GOT HIM! OH YEAH OH YEAH! UH HUH!" She sticks out her tongue at him, and then runs away when he chases after her with his ball, murder intent burning in his eyes. The people around them and I sweat-drop. Typical scenario.

XXX

**Namine's POV**

_Lunchtime,_

I am sitting alone up at the rooftop when I suddenly spot Isabella approaching me. I visibly tense, afraid.

"Hey there, Naminé…" I shiver, inching away from her. "Don't worry I won't harass you. I'm actually here for a favor!"

I look up at her, worried.

"You see, yesterday, I saw you. Here. On the fight, and… nobody else saw it. So, here's the deal. I'll take you to the principal's office now… And you're going to tell them this:"

She leans in dangerously close to my face, I cringe, scared she'll hurt me...

_"Sora attacked me first!_"


	4. Namine's Family

Chapter 4

_Few days later, after Isabella's recovery…_

_**Naminé's POV**_

I shake my head vehemently, I can't lie, it's just something I can _not_ do.

Isabella frowns. She's angry now. "I won't let you say no! You will do as I tell you, you hear me? Now come on!" She pulls my arm hard and drags me along with her.

I struggle against her grip, "L-L-let go of me!"

She grabs me tighter, glaring at me menacingly. "Shut up!" I stop struggling immediately and bow down my head in defeat.

She continues to drag me through the empty halls; class has already started, so the hallways are empty.

Before we enter the principal's office, Isabella pulls me to one side. "Now listen, if you _dare_ to defend Sora and his friends, I will harass you for as long as I see your ugly face here! You will tell them what I told you, GOT IT?" She tugs harshly at my arm, I wince in pain. I can feel my eyes start to water.

"O-Okay!" I squeak out, ashamed, and scared of the threat.

XXX

**General POV**

_At the principal's office..._

Sora, Kairi, Riku, Isabella and her henchmen are present, they all turn to look at Naminé, hope in their eyes.

"Naminé Strife was the witness? One of the school's best and most reliable students, I would trust her answer any day," The principle says, smiling. "So, you claim that Naminé saw Sora attack you first?"

Isabella nods quickly. "Yes! Naminé saw it… didn't you Naminé?" She turns to Naminé 'innocently'.

Naminé opens her mouth, but closes it again when she sees the defeated and sad faces of Riku, Kairi and Sora.

"It's alright…" Sora tells his friends quietly with a small smile. "I _did_ get her hurt, I deserve it…"

Kairi and Riku don't look too pleased though. Naminédon't blame them. He is innocent. He was only trying to protect his friend…

Isabella glares at her. "RIGHT, Naminé?"

"Please, Isabella, don't pressure Naminé too much… she is a sensitive and timid girl," The principle says kindly, "Now, Naminé, will you tell me what happened exactly?"

Nodding, she looks up at Isabella, who is glaring at her threateningly, and then at Sora's hopeful blue eyes….

She is torn in-between

Isabella is getting impatient at the silence. "Sir, it's obvious that she is too scared to talk in front of Sora. She is afraid that HE might hurt HER next time!"

Sora frowns, shaking his head vehemently. "I wouldn't-"

"H-He wouldn't!" Namine stutters out loud at the same time.

Everyone stares intently at Namine, who has finally spoken. First time ever speaking in front of Sora.

"S-Sora is not th-that t-type of person!"

First time Sora hears her say his name, he's dancing with joy inside.

Isabella sends her a 'What-are-you-saying' look, but then she snorts. "HAH! Of course you would say that! YOU'RE ONE OF HIS FAN GIRLS!"

"No! She isn't!" Sora exclaims, shaking his head again. "She is the ONLY girl who despises me in this school! She ignores me most of the time, she treats me like I'm nobody, makes weird faces when I try to talk to her, she is NO WHERE NEAR A FANGIRL!"

Everyone sweat drops at his outburst.

Then Kairi smiles victoriously, standing by his side. "Yeah! Last time I checked YOU were the HEAD of Sora's fan club, _Isabella_!"

Isabella grits her teeth, and then crosses her arms haughtily. "NOT ANYMORE, I'M NOT!"

Riku takes a step toward her, murder intent in his eyes. "SHUT UP BITCH! YOU'RE JUST BEING BITTER AND IT'S PATHETIC!"

One of Isabella's henchmen steps in to shield her, glaring back at Riku menacingly. "_You_ shut up-!"

"EVERYONE, SILENCE!" Tifa Lockhart busts into the room, glowering at everyone.

"Mrs. Lockhart...!" The boys blush instantly while Kairi and Isabella roll their eyes at their reaction.

Tifa smiles warmly at Naminé, edging closer to her side. "Naminé, I believe you have something to say."

Isabella visibly panics. "W-Why would you trust her word? She might be lying!"

Kairi raises an eyebrow, suspicious. "_You_ brought her here to testify against _us_!"

Sora nods forcefully. "Besides, Naminé won't lie!" He stands next to Naminé, smiling playfully at her. "Right, Naminé? You're not the type to lie...right?"

Naminé blushes a bit, and looks away. Sora's left eye twitches in mild annoyance, but he decides to ignore it this time. She's just defended him a while back!

Tifa smiles down at Naminé reassuringly while placing a hand on her shoulder to encourage her to say the truth.

Namine gazes down silently at her feet, contemplating what to do...

XXX

_"Um... Hi! I'm Sora!"_

"_Um hey, mind if I sit next to you?"_

"_...Sora is one of the nicest boys I know in this school!"_

_"Why are you so weird like that?"_

_"That's the Kairi that we know! Now __**SMILE**__!"_

_"The ball's not gonna hurt you, y'know..."_

_"W-Would you play catch with me?"_

_"ALRIGHT! LET'S PLAY!"_

Naminé is having quick flashbacks of the short time she's spent knowing Sora little by little, and so far, Namine notes; Sora is the only person who's ever tried hard to get closer to her. Most people would simply dismiss her as a freak and leave her alone, but he is always honest around her. When he's called her weird for instance, Naminé thought it was mean, but it is the truth… judging by the way she's been behaving around him ever since they've met.

Right now, the least she can do is return the favor, and be honest about this...

XXX

"I-I saw Sora push Isabella..."

Sora's head slumps sadly, and his friends shake their head in disappointment while Isabella and her henchmen smirk, brimming with glee.

"_SEE_! I TOLD YOU!" Isabella exclaims triumphantly.

Kairi snorts in the background. "Just a minute ago you said that she might lie..."

But Naminé surprises them by continuing, "B-B-But... she attacked Kairi first! _S-Sora was trying to protect Kairi!_"

Tifa smiles proudly and squeezes her shoulder gently. Kairi punches the air happily and sends Isabella a teasing grin, while Riku simply stands coolly, smiling a bit.

Sora is in deep shock for a while, and then he grins from ear to ear suddenly. Overwhelmed with gratitude, he attacks Naminé with a bear hug.

"Naminéeee! THANK YOU!"

Kairi sweat drops. "Let the girl go you pervert, you might choke her to death!"

He lets go of her in an instant, chuckling sheepishly, "Sorry!"

Naminé's face is, of course, tomato red. She inches away from Sora a bit, quietly trying to make her escape.

"Sora, Kairi, Riku and Naminé... you can leave." The principle tells them finally, and then he turns at the other group and his expression becomes dark, "You three will have to stay. Using Naminé to lie for you wasn't very cool…"

Kairi sticks out her tongue at them, while Riku smirks triumphantly. Sora is too busy staring giddily at his savior, Naminé.

Tifa follows Naminé and the rest out but then stops and turns around.

"Oh, and one more thing, Isabella _threatened_ to bully Naminé if she didn't lie about what she saw. I heard the whole thing down in the hallway before coming here."

Isabella tenses, receiving a hard glare from the principle. Looks like Isabella and her henchmen are going to get a _very_ long suspension…

XXX

As soon as Tifa leaves, after kindly asking them to take care of Naminé, Sora turns around to the blond and invites her to hang out with them. Riku is not too happy about it though. So Kairi and Sora drag him to one side, and try to coax him by telling him about how amazing and pretty and cute Naminé is, and how lonely she appears.

"Come on Riku! Don't be like that! Naminé is really smart!" Sora whines.

"And nice... plus she doesn't have any friends!" Kairi adds with hopeful, pleading eyes.

Riku sighs deeply, thinking.

Sora and Kairi show him their best puppy-face.

"Can we keep her?" Sora asks pleadingly.

Kairi glares at him. "She's not a pet Sora! Treat her with more respect, will you!" She retorts, smacking the back of his head.

He winces from pain, and turns to pout at her. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Uh, guys?" Riku decides to break yet another of their catfights.

They turn swiftly at him, frustrated. "What?"

Riku smirks, and tells them coolly. "I think your subject of interest just ran away."

Sora and Kairi blink confusedly and turn around quickly to look at the empty space Naminé has been standing on a while back.

"Naminéee!" Sora yells, stretching his hand toward the faraway figure of Naminé hurriedly fleeing the scene.

XXX

_Day 1..._

Sora is still curious about Naminé... and he _still_thinks she's weird. Because she _still_ avoids them, well, _him_ mainly. Eventually, Sora decides to give up, or at least try to. And convinces himself to just ignore her again.

XXX

_Day 2..._

Kairi '_forgets_' something in the girls' locker after '_everyone_' left it, so she sends Sora to get it for her.

Sora enters the girls' locker. A fool's first step to the unknown and beyond, and sees a topless Naminé, well, he sees her from behind, her bare back, she is holding her shirt against her front. She doesn't notice him though.

His face turns bright red. He takes careful steps backwards and gently closes the door behind him.

He clutches his chest, feeling his heart beating wildly inside. He's never had this kind of reaction or situation with a girl before, except with fangirls who try to strip in front of him, but to Sora, they aren't normal girls, they're a kind of species.

He walks back like a zombie toward Kairi, who frowns when she notices his blank expression, thinking her plan has failed. "HEY! Where's my stuff?"

"I... forgot... get it... yourself," He walks away, his expression dead. "Not gonna go there again..."

Kairi has a question mark looming over her head, but then shrugs carelessly and ignores it. "Thought so… Sora wouldn't dare enter the girls' lockers…" She sighs defeatedly.

XXX

_Day 3..._

He feels the attraction; he can't stop thinking about her for _days_!

_"Get out of my head!"_ He clutches his head tightly like a mad man, rocking it back and forth.

"Naminé!" He screams out loud suddenly, causing the whole class to freeze and turn their heads to look at him, sweat-dropping.

Even Naminé is startled about why he's barked her name like that. She sinks in her seat to avoid the curious classmates' gazes, and the fangirls' glares of course.

Meanwhile, Sora chuckles nervously and opens a random book to hide his embarrassed expression.

XXX

_Day 4..._

Every time he sees Naminé, his heart beats so fast and he feels his face heating up, to the point that it is unbearable. So he decides to visit the Nurse's Office the next day, hoping she'll be able to fix whatever is wrong with him…

XXX

_Day 5..._

"Sora Leonhart. What brings you here?" Tifa asks with a playful smile.

Sora, sitting on the chair in front of hers, sighs deeply, as if the weight of the world is placed on his shoulders. "I've been feeling very strange lately..."

Tifa raises a curious eyebrow; Sora seems to be very serious that it's unsettling. "Strange...?"

He nods slowly. "Well, yeah... There's this person...And whenever I'm around this person... I-I start feeling queasy, my hearts beats so fast that it _hurts_, and my face feels hot and-"

Tifa's smile stretches knowingly as he goes on, suppressing the urge to chuckle. "Hold on, is this person a girl.?"

Sora stops to shrug. "Well, yeah..."

Tifa nods slowly, her smile almost expanding out of her face. "Okay, good, tell me more about her..."

"She... She doesn't like me very much. In fact, she never spoke to me! But, even with that, I still get this _annoying_ need to talk to her! It's driving me CRAZY! I even lost my appetite! DO YOU SEE HOW SERIOUS THIS IS?" He exclaims hysterically.

Tifa sweat-drops and tries to calm him down. "I do, Sora, I do. Now please calm down!"

Sora calms down and sighs again.

Then, unfortunately for him, the bell rings.

"I think you should go to your class now, Sora," Tifa tells him with a sigh. "We'll talk about this some other time. Take care!"

"Okay..." He mumbles dejectedly as he makes his way out of the nurse office.

XXX

During lunch time, Sora is hanging out with his best friends, Kairi and Riku, like usual. But he looks distant... and thoughtful. It creeps both Riku and Kairi out to see him like this. So Kairi decides to engage into a conversation with him, and find out what's bothering her friend this time...

"Sora, are..."

Sora appears to be distracted though, he's looking around at the place frantically, as if searching for someone. But when he hears Kairi speaking to him, he turns to her with a grave look on his face. "I can't find Naminé anywhere. Where do you think she goes to at lunch break?"

Kairi and Riku turn to share an exasperated glance with each other, sighing.

"Sora..." Kairi begins, trying to look serious, and fighting off the urge to grin and squeal like the cupid she is.

"Does she even eat...? I mean, she looks really pale..." Sora rambles on, eyes looking over at the ceiling thoughtfully for some reason.

Kairi emits a small chuckle. "Of course she eats, she's a _human being_!"

For some reason, Sora doubts it. "...Do you think she acts differently at her house? I wonder how her house is like..."

Riku has enough, he stops eating suddenly, shaking his head at him. "Sora, don't you think you're being too much _obsessive_?"

Sora snaps out of his thoughts to pout at Riku. "Not obsessive, _curious_! I'm just being _curious_!"

"Even curiosity has its limits!" Riku retorts nonchalantly. Kairi silently agrees.

Sora puffs in a childish manner and attacks his food aggressively.

XXX

_Day 6..._

It is PE, and Sora is watching Naminé practicing volley ball with the rest of the girls at the other side of the gym. He can't stop looking at her.

But then, a random basket ball clashes with his head and sends him unconscious, so he gets sent to the infirmary. _Again_. Riku and Kairi leave him there to attend their classes.

Sora wakes up and mistakes Tifa for an angel, he even imagines wings. She laughs when he asks out loud if she's really an angel.

Tifa rests back on her chair, a tired smile on her face. "Wow, two visits in the same day. This must be more serious than I thought."

"Aw, my head hurts... What happened?" Sora asks, rubbing the back of his head where it hurts.

"They say you looked dazed for a while, and you didn't bother catching a ball coming your way… Something on your mind?" She asks the last bit teasingly.

Sora blushes a bit,_ "__That was embarassing_," he thinks, since he is supposed to be a hard-core basket ball player.

"Was it because of that girl again?" Tifa asks after a moment of silence, a playful glint in her eyes.

At that, he wonders if he should confide her with his problem now, because she may be able to fix it. Determined, he tells her about Naminé, everything he's experienced with her, and how she refuses to speak to him...

Tifa nods in understanding and fights the urge to chuckle as he rambles on and on.

"Naminé Strife?" She finally asks, hoping that _she's_ the one.

"Yeah, yeah! The blonde who carries a sketchbook all the time! She's so weird." He says the last bit with a childish pout.

Tifa nods quickly, smiling. "I know her! She's adorable, isn't she?"

Sora finds himself nodding subconsciously in return.

"Yea-WAIT A MINUTE! WAS THAT A TRAP?" He catches himself, a funny half-angry, half-suspicious look on his face.

Tifa laughs sweetly. "I think I got my answer."

Sora blushes, looking away embarrassedly. "Wh-What one earth are you talking about..." He manages to stutter out, turning redder by the moment. "...SEE, IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN, _FIX IT_!" He cries out in panic, cupping his face.

She merely laughs in response, and shakes her head. "Sora, didn't you say you had this overwhelming feeling of wanting to talk to her?"

Sora nods cautiously with a dumb expression.

"Why don't you come with me after school? I'm going to her house. Her father is a very close friend of mine. Then you will get to spend some time with her and talk. Wouldn't you like that?" She asks eagerly, trying to coax him into it for the purpose of wanting Naminé to open up and have more friends. She sees Sora as the key since he is very social and nice. Tifa cares about Naminé so much, so she doesn't want her to end up as a loner like her father, who doesn't like to express his feelings.

Sora is torn inside, he wants to go, but he doesn't want to go for two different reasons. One, he really wants to get to know her better. Two, but he doesn't want to go because he's promised himself that he'll try to forget all about her.

"I don't think-" Sora is starting to shake his head unsurely.

"That will help fix your problem I think!" Tifa adds quickly.

"OK!" Sora finds himself agreeing instantly.

"Great!" Tifa claps her hands together, smiling brightly. "I'll pick you up after school then!"

Sora begins to wonder how Naminé is like in her house, is she a weirdo there too? Does she talk? What's her family like?... etc.

As for Tifa, although it seems like Sora has fallen completely head over heels for Naminé, he is oblivious to it. But with time... surely, he will finally realize it, or so she hopes...

XXX

After school, Tifa, as promised, takes Sora with her in her car to go to Naminé's place. Supposedly, Naminé's already there. Cloud picks her up as early as possible from school every day.

Sora enters inside the house after Tifa, examining it like it's the home of aliens.

"_It's normal… So far,"_ Sora notes mentally while nodding to himself.

Cloud suddenly comes out from the kitchen. He nods at Tifa, quietly acknowledging her presence. "Tifa..." He mutters in a quiet depressing tone.

Tifa greets him with a warm smile; Cloud then glances over suspiciously at Sora.

Sora gulps hard nervously. "Er… hi…?"

Tifa instantly introduces him, almost as nervous herself. "Oh, Th-That's Naminé's classmate, Sora Leonhart. Sora this Cloud, Naminé's _father_."

_"Scary father... his eyes are baring holes into me!"_

"Er... N-Nice to m-meet you," Sora manages to stutter out, his eyes unable to meet his.

"Hn," Cloud studies Sora carefully, and then turns to Tifa with a clearly unhappy expression. "Why did you bring him here?"

Sora flinches, feeling unwanted and embarrassed. _He's so mean… like his daughter!_

Tifa struggles with her smile a bit. "B-Be more nice Cloud! Sora wanted to spend some friendly time with Naminé, isn't that right, Sora?"

Sora appears to be distracted for a second there. But he soon comes to focus and replies hastily, "Uhh, oh yeah… Yeah…" He keeps nodding his head like an idiot.

Cloud is still glaring at him. "Since when does Namine talk to boys?" He hisses protectively at Tifa.

Sora gulps harder. "_I__**SO**__want to get out of here! Why did I say yes in the first place, WHYYY?"_

Tifa is angry now. "Oh come on Cloud! You never let Naminé get close to anyone! Don't you think you're being overprotective? Let Naminé have some friends! I bet the poor girl is lonely!"

Cloud listens to Tifa for some reason; he looks down for a bit and nods. "Alright. Just this once."

Tifa smiles happily. "Thanks Cloud, I knew you'd listen!"

He shrugs a bit, but he still looks annoyed though.

"I'll go and prepare lunch, why don't you go hang out with Naminé up in her room Sora?" Tifa tells Sora while smiling.

Sora opens his mouth to say something, but then, suddenly, Cloud barks a "_**No**_!" causing Sora's entire body to jump forward from the sudden fright, his eyes almost bulging out.

"I'll go and bring her down. Stay _here_!" Cloud points at the sofa.

Sora sits like a frightened puppy on the exact same sofa Cloud pointed at in zipping speed.

Tifa feels sorry for him; she shakes her head before turning to leave to the kitchen.

Cloud goes up the stairs, while Sora scans the living room curiously. He notices one of the photos around; of a beautiful brunette with a baby Naminé and Cloud… and Cloud looks like he was actually LAUGHING! "_Hallelujah!"_

Sora wonders if the brunette is her mom. But then Cloud comes down after a while, with Naminé right behind him.

When she spots Sora, she stops completely and her eyes widen in shock. "Wh-what are you doing here?" She asks in a frightened voice.

"_NOW she speaks to me! So it's true, she__**does**__speak in her house!"_

"Uh…" Sora is feeling embarrassed for some reason. "I just..."

He is blushing **hard**, "_Crap...that feeling again!_ _I'm seriously sick!"_

Cloud glares at his reaction quietly, obviously not making it any easier for poor Sora.

"I-came-to-say-hello-and-now-am-leaving-bye!" He turnsand leaves the living room in haste.

Tifa springs out of the kitchen after him. "Wait, Sora! Aren't you having lunch with us first?"

"_F-Food?"_Sora stops abruptly on the way out, feeling his stomach growling.

"O-Okay!"

XXX

They're all sitting around the lunch table; Tifa is her usual cheerful and smiling self, and the _ONLY_ one at that. Cloud is still glaring quietly at Sora. Naminé is making those 'weird faces' again, Sora thinks while fidgeting under the intense glare her father is sending him.

Tifa tries to make Cloud busy by chatting with him about work and stuff. Sora is finally able to relax again, he sighs out with relief. Then his eyes fall on Naminé, eating her meal timidly at the other side of the table.

A question pops up in Sora's head, and he is stupid enough to bring it out loud. "Erm, where's Naminé's mom?" He asks bluntly.

He is responded by complete and utter silence.

"_Bad question, VERY bad question Sora!"_Tifa thinks panicky.

For Sora, he is simply curious why the mom isn't eating with them and Tifa's here instead, when she's clearly not the mom.

Cloud drops the spoon slowly, causing Sora to tense. Naminé, too, stops eating as well and stares down at her plate miserably.

Tifa is smiling awkwardly at everyone.

Sora instantly feels that what he's asked is WRONG. He shouldn't have spoken...

But the air here is too silent, too quiet, _too boring_! Tifa's trying so hard to cheer up the atmosphere, but it doesn't seem to work. In Sora's house, it is _LOUD_! And fun... Here, it feels like someone died...

"Thanks for the food," Cloud says quietly, and then leaves the table, having barely eaten anything.

Tifa frowns, looking up at him with concern. "Cloud, you have to eat! Cloud!"

He's already left, with Naminé in toe, silently slipping away after her father. Tifa sits back slowly, sighing heavily. Sora feels extremely guilty.

"I'm sorry…" He says quietly with his head hung low.

Tifa shakes her head and smiles at Sora reassuringly.

"No, it's OK Sora, I should have told you..." She looks sadly at the door Naminé and Cloud have left from. "Naminé's mother passed away in an accident two years ago."

Sora feels a sudden pain stab through his heart. "I-I see… I'm so sorry… I-I shouldn't have come in the first place!" Frantically, he stands up to leave.

Tifa puts a hand on his to keep him still. "No, don't say that! I _WANTED_ you to come! You're the only one who ever tried _so_ hard to become closer to Naminé, the only one who cared so much about her. I've watched you, Sora. Naminé needs someone like you to burst her bubble. Ever since Aerith died, Naminé has become distant from the world; it took her _**days**_ to speak again. But she isn't fully healed yet. So, please, I want you to _stay_ by her side!"

Sora stares at Tifa's serious face for a while, a sad expression on his face.

"Promise me?" Tifa asks softly. "Please, Sora?"

"O-Okay..." He finally nods. "I promise."

XXX

_"All this time I thought she was some weird freaky girl..."_

Sora is thinking to himself after he's left Naminé's house, on his way toward his. Tifa has offered to drive him home but he wanted to walk instead, feeling that he's troubled them enough.

He reaches his house at last and goes up to his room silently, then throws himself on his bed.

He gazes up at the ceiling for a very long time, just thinking, and then he finally makes a decision. He hops up on top of his bed, punching the air with vigor determination.

"ALRIGHT! I'M GONNA HELP BURST NAMINE'S BUBBLE!" He shouts to no one in particular.

"IF YOU DON'T KEEP IT DOWN SORA, I'LL BURST YOUR _HEAD_!" His father, Squall, yells at him from the other room.

It is 3 am.


	5. Crazy or Crush?

Chapter 5

It's school the other day, and Sora looks like his usual cheerful self again. Kairi and Riku are obviously glad, and not to mention _curious_.

"You look happy today..." Kairi says suspiciously as they're walking toward their lockers. "Something good happened?"

Sora shrugs distractedly, searching the place for a particular someone. As he and his friends make their way through the school hallway, he finally spots his target... _Naminé_.

And to his best friends' and the other students' extreme shock, he actually hurries to where she's standing; getting out some books from her locker.

"Hiya Naminé!" Sora salutes in his happy-go-lucky voice, leaning casually on the locker next to her.

Naminé breathes out a troubled sigh before turning to meet Sora. But then her eyes fall on the mob around them; staring at them intently.

It seems that, practically everyone noticed the special attention Sora is giving Naminé these days. Some even expect them to become a couple soon, while the other majority disagrees, though, claiming that Naminé doesn't appear to like Sora, or that he's too good for that 'freak'.

Naminé notices the people around them start gossiping to each other, their eyes shifting to her then back to their partners now and then.

Namine panics, and turns to face her locker again. Thinking that, perhaps if she ignores him, he will go away.

Sora's grin slips, but he doesn't give up. "L-Lovely morning, is it?"

Kairi and Riku, who are watching them in the background, roll their eyes.

"It's raining Sora!" Kairi whispers at him while motioning at her wet hair. "Raining _BAD_!"

Sora ignores them, noticing that Naminé's hair is not wet. "Why's your hair not wet?"

She simply points at the white umbrella inside her locker.

"Oh. So you have an umbrella..."

_Silence_.

"I-I have one too," Sora awkwardly attempts at engaging into a conversation with her, "It's blue... with y-yellow stripes..."

Kairi and Riku sweat-drop, then shake their heads at him and walk off toward their classes.

"...I lost it, though..."

Naminé keeps staring at her locker, wondering why he is babbling about this to her and what does he want in the first place.

Sora finally realizes that he's making an idiot of himself. "B-But you don't care about that... do you... erm..." He says uncomfortably; his heart beating so fast. He figures that he must be having another attack of those unexplainable – well, to him, anyway – reactions to Naminé again.

After another moment of awkward silence, the bell suddenly rings.

"S-So... how about we walk together to class?" Sora offers hopefully.

Naminé shakes her head, and looks down, obviously fidgeting. She is grabbing her books too tightly against her chest.

Sora is still not going to give up, however. "Aww, come on… We share all classes together don't we?"

Naminé shakes her head again and walks off by herself toward their first class, but Sora stubbornly tags along.

The fangirls notice this on their way to their own classes, and frown. Not liking the fact that Sora's obvious interest in Naminé has lasted more than it should.

On their way to class, Naminé tries to keep some distance between her and Sora, but to her dismay, he always closes the gap, smiling at her innocently.

X-X-X

During their classes together, Sora always manages to switch his seats to sit next to her. Naminé doesn't like this. Because, first of all, the fangirls apear to despise her more and more within every passing hour. The only thing that's keeping them from eating her alive is Sora, who is by her side all the time.

He keeps rambling about pointless and meaningless things nonstop. Naminé is beginning to find him annoying. Before, she was scared of him. But now, she's not that scared.

In fact, she finds him _really_ annoying. If she isn't shy and lacking self-confidence, she'd have told him to leave her alone by now. But, of course, she doesn't want to attract attention, and Sora, is surrounded by people _all _the time.

As he accompanies her from class to class, a mob of people gather around him and walk them there. Naminé feels uncomfortable around so many people, but Sora has become an inescapable nuisance, so she's forced to be dragged along.

Naminé wonders when he will get bored of her already. She won't talk. She's sworn to herself that she won't talk to him. Ever. Not a word. That way, he's _bound_ to get bored of her…

X-X-X

When it's the second period, Art Class, Naminé makes sure to arrive there before Sora. Luck was by her side when the fangirls have piled up around him and barricaded him from keeping up with her.

And now, as she is sitting on her usual seat in the back, she makes sure to put her sketchbook and stuff _on_ _the seat next to her_– where Sora is supposed to sit – and smiles victoriously to herself. There's no way he'll sit next to her now. Well, not unless he decides to take off her stuff by himself...

Nervously, she anticipates his arrival. And more importantly, his reaction.

Sora comes in, surrounded by fangirls, like usual. Naminé quickly looks down at her desk when his eyes look in her direction. Her heart is beating faster and faster as she hears his footsteps coming to where she is.

"Uhh... Is this seat taken?" She hears him ask unsurely.

Well, no, she hasn't thought about that... but...

She nods.

He sighs with exasperation and sits on his usual seat somewhere in front.

She sighs with _relief_. She had done it. She's just gotten rid of him! For _now_...

X-X-X

In the middle of the lesson, Sora glances back in Naminé's direction, and pouts. The seat is still empty.

Did she trick him...?

X-X-X

The teacher announces that they'll be doing another project in pairs. The partners will have to draw a portrait of each other.

Sora, almost instantly, declares that he wants to be Naminé's partner. The class sweat-drops at his sudden outburst. The fangirls are obviously not happy, though. Naminé has to shield her face with her sketchbook to escape their death glares.

"You seem unusually active today Sora. I wonder what's the occasion?" The teacher asks, and then glances at Namine and smiles knowingly. "Of course. You can be her partner."

Naminé's head slumps dejectedly at the announcement while Sora grins from ear to ear, thanks the teacher, and turns to walk toward the empty desk beside Naminé. He takes off her stuff and puts them on top of her desk, smiling triumphantly at her.

"You lied to me, didn't you," He tells her while smiling playfully, "You wanted to get rid of me! How mean..."

She won't look at him. Instead, she tries to keep her expression stoic and her eyes focused on the sketchbook.

He leans in, grinning like an idiot. "You're not as innocent as everyone thinks you are, huh, _HUH_?" He asks teasingly.

She resists the urge to push his face away, and turns to stare at the direction opposite of him instead. He leans back, still grinning at his discovery.

He's slowly starting to get to know her. And every new thing he learns about Naminé makes him like her more and more...

Suddenly, he notices the smile she's desperately trying to wipe off her face and grins wider, if possible. "You're smiling!" He points out, a chuckle evident in his voice.

She struggles to frown instead but it's impossible, Sora's idiotic grinning face is contagious.

"I bet you're not talking to me on purpose! You're waiting for me to give up on you, _huuh_?"

For a dense kind of person, Sora - surprisingly - _can_ be smart sometimes.

"But it won't work..." Sora adds confidently.

Namine frowns.

The urge to turn around and ask him, "_WHAT will?"_ almost overwhelms her, but just as she opens her mouth, she comes to a complete stop when she notices Sora's anticipating look, and so, she closes it again.

Sora's expression falls, pouting. But then a teasing smile quickly replaces it. "Almost got you to speak, didn't I?" He grins triumphantly.

Namine bites her lower lip but still refuses to say anything. Instead, she distracts herself by starting to sketch a portrait of Sora. Oh, she's going to have fun with this...

X-X-X

Riku's arrogant trait is really starting to rub off on him, Sora thinks with a smile.

He begins sketching Naminé as well. Although, he isn't good at it. His artistic abilities are that of a five year old.

Naminé, on the other hand, is doing great, as expected.

Sora watches her intently as she continues drawing him. Suddenly, his curiosity overcomes him. _How_ will Naminé draw him? He wants to see. He wants to see _BADLY_.

He peeks from behind his own sketchbook to look at her. She's totally engrossed in her drawing, but she looks absolutely adorable like that...

Sora frowns at his thoughts, and slaps himself lightly – and continuously - on the cheek to distract himself.

Naminé glances at him and sweat-drops when she sees what he's doing. But she shrugs and continues drawing. Sora's eccentricity is nothing new, after all.

When the bell rings, signaling the end of their Art Class, the teacher asks them to hand over their drawings.

Sora stops Naminé before she does, though. "Wait! Lemme see, first!" He snatches her sketchbook from her and gawks at it.

She drew him, alright.

She drew him as a _clown_. Red nose, idiotic grin, messy hair, and all that.

Naminé sees him as a _clown_. He grimaces, his left eye twitching. Then, he looks up to see Naminé's teasing smile flashing at him for a split second, before she calmly takes her sketchbook back and prepares to leave.

"You have a twisted sense of humor, y'know that!" He keeps staring at her as she walks out of their class, showing off an _'I'm-not-happy-with-this'_ pout.

She ignores him and head out to their Math Class, smiling a bit over her little act of revenge.

X-X-X

As she is making her way toward their Math Class, she hears Sora and his fans come up from behind her. She expects him to stick by her side and accompany her to class like before, but instead, he doesn't. He ignores her presence and walks ahead.

Naminé is puzzled. From a while there, she thinks that he's finally given up on her! She's overjoyed. But as soon as she enters the classroom, her hopes go down the drain.

He's there, sitting on the seat next to hers, waving innocently and smiling at her.

Naminé frowns. He's done it on purpose. He's beaten her to class so he can get the seat next to hers.

She breathes out a troubled sigh and makes her way to her desk, trying to ignore the goofy grin that is directed at her all the while...

X-X-X

_Lunch break…_

For once, Sora seems to be in deep thought, absentmindedly gazing down at his food and unconsciously picking at it with his fork. Kairi warily watches him, slowly inching her elbow to nudge Riku, who in response, sends her a death glare, obviously annoyed.

"Talk to him!" The red head hisses quietly.

With an exaggerated sigh, Riku faces Sora slowly. "Where were you last night? You didn't come to Star Bucks, for once, and you didn't call..."

A confused Sora looks up at them, blinking.

"Yeah!" Kairi exclaims with a pout. "We even called your house, and you weren't there!"

"Oh" is Sora's simple response. He scratches the back of his head sheepishly.

"OH? What do you mean 'Oh'? You tell us where you were last night mister!" Kairi demands while waving her fork at his face threateningly.

"I was at Naminé's," He steadily replies. Riku and Kairi freeze their forks halfway to their mouths as they continue to stare at him in shock. Sora, realizing his mistake, rushes to explain before they jump to the wrong conclusion. "B-But it wasn't anything like that! I was just having lunch with her family!"

Riku and Kairi nod their head in understanding.

"So... what's her family like then?" Kairi asks enthusiastically. "I bet her mom is really pretty!"

Glumly, Sora looks down at the table. "She's dead."

Riku and Kairi stop breathing, and look at him with wide eyes, their face mimicking one another in undisguised shock.

"What?" Kairi breaths.

Sora rushes to tell them what happened the previous night, how he got there, about her father. Everything. They both listen intently, Kairi tearing up and gazing down at the table sadly. Riku just looks at Sora, seemingly careless.

"Oh... So that's how it is..." Kairi says with a sigh, sadly looking down. "I feel so sorry for her."

"That's why I've decided to be her friend! You should to Kairi!"

Smiling, Kairi nods. "Of course! I'm already one step ahead of you idiot! She talks to me!" She says the last part teasingly, causing Sora to pout and grumble unintelligently.

Riku watches their interaction silently and speaks up, "Let's add her to our group."

Sora and Riku stare at him, wide eye.

"REALLY?" They shout, grinning like idiots. "WE CAN KEEP HER?"

"If you make me repeat it one more time, I'll change my mind—"

"NO!" They scream with a grim expression.

He rolls his eyes while saying, "But you have to promise to take good care of her, kids."

They keep nodding like kids. "We promise!"

"Mhm."

"YEEAAHHHH!" Kairi and Sora punch the air happily while Riku shakes his head at them, hiding a smile.

Kairi turns to Sora enthusiastically. "What are you waiting for, Sora? GO GET HER!"

Quickly, she pushes her friend out the cafeteria. Sora stands there, trying to think of the places where he may find Naminé.

He sighs tiredly. "This will take a _long_ time…"

Running across the entire school, he keeps searching for her, but in the end. Mission failed.

Lunch hour has already ended as Kairi spots Sora while leaving the cafeteria and scowls. "You didn't find her?"

Sora shakes his head slowly, ashamed.

Kairi sighs.

"I wonder where she goes to during lunch break…" Sora mumbles, scratching his chin.

Kairi slaps his arm.

Sora frowns at her in annoyance. "What?"

"The first to figure out Naminé's hideout during lunch break is the winner!" She tells him challengingly, eyes sparkling.

"YOU'RE ON!" He replies excitedly. "I WON'T LOSE!"

Kairi smirks playfully, glaring back at him.

Yuffie pops up out of nowhere between them. They yelp, inching away instantly.

"The loser will have to... _Slap Riku on the face!_" She tells them, grinning mischievously.

Sora gasps dramatically. "That's suicide!"

"_Scared_?" Kairi turns to eye him teasingly.

Sora turns to glare at her, pouting. "No way! I'm not gonna lose to _you_!"

"Neither am I!"

Yuffie watches them, grinning wider. "That's the spirit! I'll be the judge then."

X-X-X

_PE, the girls' lockers…_

Kairi watches Naminé from her locker, waiting for the right moment to attack—err, to try getting close to her. Finally, when Naminé's done changing, she grabs her arm before she has a chance to leave the locker room.

Naminé turns to look at her, wide eyes, clearly startled. "K-K-Kairi?"

Kairi puts on her best coaxing smile immediately. "How about we go together?"

Naminé looks down, blushing. "Su-Sure…"

Kairi takes Naminé's hand in hers and walks out together, smiling friendly at her. Naminé struggles to smile back, feeling nervous.

X-X-X

_Gym…_

"I wonder if Naminé told her where her hideout is…" Sora is muttering to himself wonderingly.

Riku raises an eyebrow. "Hm? What did you say?"

Sora turns to Riku with a shrug. "It's a challenge between me and Kairi."

Riku rolls his eyes. "Again? You guys are so immature. What's it about this time?" He asks tiredly.

"We have to figure out where Naminé hides during lunch break," Sora explains.

"And the prize is?"

"There's no prize… but the loser will have to…" He looks up at Riku and bites his lower lip.

"Will have to what?" Riku urgently asks him, curious.

Sora shakes his head quickly. "Nothing!"

His eyes narrows at Kairi's figure when he notices her coming out with Naminé, and _holding hands_! He glares at their intertwined hands, feeling irritated for some reason he can't comprehend.

Kairi spots Sora and sticks out her tongue at him, showing off their intertwined hands. He frowns, cursing Kairi in his head.

Riku follows his vision and chuckles. "You're jealous of _Kairi_?"

Sora ignores him and aims his ball at Kairi. She yelps when the ball hits the back of her head, and finally let goes of Naminé's hand, then turns around to glare at her attacker with murder intent burning in her eyes.

"_Sora_," she hisses darkly.

Sora grins innocently at her. "Oops…?"

Kairi growls, but then successfully manages to contain her anger and ignore him, planning an ambush for later. Quickly, she turns to a shocked Naminé with a carefree smile plastered across her mouth. "Sora is so mean, isn't he?" Kairi whines 'innocently'.

Naminé nods silently in agreement.

Sora scowls, and curses to himself. Riku suppresses a grin.

Kairi 1, Sora 0!

X-X-X

This time, they have a volley ball match. The teams have already been formed by the coach. Sora, Kairi, Yuffie, and Naminé are on the same team, while Riku is in their enemy's team.

"Na-Naminé… Hi…" Sora approaches his teammate shyly while scratching the back of his head.

Naminé ignores him though, looking down and fidgeting with her blouse. He pouts as Kairi snickers at him in the background.

"RIKU MUST DIE!" Yuffie exclaims suddenly, pushing a fist in front of her team's face.

They all simultaneously sweat-drop.

"No way! We can't hurt Ri-_ku!_" An obvious Riku fangirl protests, pouting cutely.

Yuffie shows a disgusted face. "Ugh. A prick-fangirl. Why did they put her with us?"

"C-Can I say something?"

The team turns to face a goofy looking blonde guy with a Mohawk hair-style and an awkward grin.

"It's safe for both you and me if you don't let me deal with the ball… at all! …Hehe…" He says, chuckling nervously.

Yuffie raises an eyebrow, and then points a finger at him. "Is he in our team?"

"Demyx? I don't think so. He's supposed to be on the other team…" A random guy in their team says.

"I-I am? But they told me the same there too…"

The entire team glares at him suspiciously.

Yuffie puts her hands on her hips exasperatedly. "Look pal, you're clearly not in our team!"

"O-Oh. Okay. Hehe..." He retreats back to go to the other team, smiling awkwardly.

Riku's team frown when they notice Demyx approaching them again.

"Damnit! We almost got rid of him!"

X-X-X

Students are gathering into the now crowded basketball arena, which is being temporarily turned into a volleyball court, with all the nets and Volleyball balls in a corner. The coach calls everyone forward, separating them into teams.

Team 1 consists of: Sora, Kairi, Yuffie, Naminé, some random people and fangirls. Team 2 has: Riku, Demyx, Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, few more fangirls, and random people, of course.

Riku is unhappy about Demyx and Selphie being in his team. Since Demyx is pretty much useless and clumsy when it comes to sports. He's also a loser in most people's eyes; simply because our spiky blond is wimpy, pathetic and totally cowardly with absolutely no good qualities whatsoever. Except maybe for his looks, which are ordinary compared to the rest of the guys' in Twilight High.

Quietly, Demyx stands in the far end of the court, a dumb clueless look on his face.

Riku watches him from afar, frowning. Then he turns his head to study Selphie by his side, waving at him frantically with heart-shaped eyes, and frowns deeper.

_"Damn it! I have the worst team ever. At this rate, I'll lose again! I can't afford to lose! I must win back my pride and dignity!" _Riku thinks worriedly, recalling the last dodge ball match where he's been disgracefully beaten by a girl. And Naminé, no less.

Selphie is another big problem to Riku, since she tends to drool over him rather than play, or do anything for that matter. She is such a romantic; her head is always in the clouds. And she's extremely - and annoyingly, Riku adds mentally - hyper.

She's standing by his side, jumping from glee, obviously elated that she's in the same team as his. Tidus and Wakka - the other members of Riku's team, and his and Sora's jock friends - sweat drop, complaining to themselves about the teams too.

At the other side of the net, Yuffie watches Selphie warily. Riku follows her vision and smirks, slowly placing an arm around Selphie, who in response, blushes happily like a love-struck idiot.

"Jealous?" He asks Yuffie mockingly, his infamous smirk on.

Yuffie snorts in response; then laughs out loud forcefully. "AS IF! I'm just studying your team. Looks like you have a lot of losers!" She laughs hysterically at him some more.

As the game is about to start, Yuffie checks her team, and then focuses seriously on Namine. "We HAVE to win against them this time too! You beat the prick last time, use those skills again! ALRIGHT!"

Naminé suddenly becomes nervous by the sudden mass attention. Looking down the floor shyly, she nods.

Sora quickly stands by her side. "No worries, I'll cover for her!"

Kairi and Yuffie sweat drop. "You better cover for yourself, idiot," Kairi murmurs.

"Yeah! You got hit by the ball a lot recently..." Yuffie hurriedly agrees. Sora pouts, looking away with a slight embarrassed blush.

Yuffie smirks evilly suddenly, placing a hand on Kairi's shoulder and whispers loudly in her ear - loud enough for Sora to hear. "Hey Kairiii, did you know? _Love-struck_ people tend to space out a lot!"

Kairi's eyes gleam mischievously. "Truuue!" She agrees dramatically, nodding and snickering together with Yuffie at Sora.

"YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ME, AREN'T YOU?" Sora pouts, narrowing his eyes at them comically.

Kairi and Yuffie shrug dismissively, rolling their eyes and leaning on each others' shoulders. "Who knooows..." They mimic the fangirls' habit of stretching words.

Sora fumes uncomfortably, crossing his arms and turning away from them in a childish manner.

But speaking of fangirls, out of nowhere, all of them come barging in.

"SORA IS IN LOOOOVE!"

"WITH WHOOOO?"

"TELL US TELL USSS!"

"TELL US!"

"SORA CAN'T BE IN LOVE!"

"HE HAS TO FALL IN LOVE WITH ME!"

"SORAAA! I FINALLY DYED MY HAIR RED SEEE!"

With the walls trembling from the noise, Sora starts to shrink away from the anxious fangirls while Naminé sweat drops in the background, inching away from all the commotion.

Meanwhile, Riku checks if all of his team is ready, but then he notices that Demyx isn't around. They look around only to see him making a so-called-sneaky attempt to escape the court. Tidus and Wakka catch him from the back of his collar under Riku's orders. Demyx helplessly cringes in response, caught.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tidus asks darkly.

Demyx gulps, chuckling nervously. "Ehehe... Ba-Bathroom...?"

"The game is just about to start ya?" Wakka adds as they drag a wailing Demyx back to the team.

He starts wailing like the drama-king he is, "I'M GONNA DIIE! I'M GONNA DIIIIE! HELP MEEE!"

Tidus smirks down at him. "No fake sick note will save you like it did last time when we had Dodge ball! Tough luck loser!"

"By the way, where's your friend Axel, he's not here ya?" Wakka questions curiously.

"They believed his fake sick note… but not miiine! NOT MIIINE! WHYY! WHYYY!" Demyx starts wailing and sobbing all over again while being dragged back like he's a dead body.

Riku looks down while shaking his head, ashamed. "_We're so gonna lose..."_He thinks sorrowfully, sighing.

Yuffie catches his troubled expression and sticks out her tongue at him mockingly. Then they start glaring at each other competitively across the field.

Sora stands close to Naminé, willing to protect her against anything. Kairi mimics his actions by standing on the other side of her.

They glare.

Naminé sweat-drops between them, thinking of strategies to escape.

The coach finally blows the whistle.

"Listen up everyone! Now, volleyball time! You know the rules! Get to your sides and START!" With that, he throws the ball at the first server and yells, "GO!"

As the game goes, the ball is mostly thrown between Riku and Yuffie. All of the players aside from those two are now standing around lazily, bored.

Some are even chatting with each other, like how Kairi is blabbering at Naminé, while Sora is glaring at them from his position, obviously jealous.

Selphie is checking her nails and muttering something every few seconds. Tidus and Wakka are showing off their muscles to the fangirls, doing strange poses, hoping to get a fangirl club of their own.

Some are folding their arms and watching as Yuffie and Riku pass the ball between them boredly, leaning against the wall or sitting down on the ground.

Suddenly, Yuffie tricks Riku and aims for another unexpected location, where Demyx is.

Demyx, however, is preoccupied; checking his hairstyle with a mirror he's kept in his pocket.

"THE BALL!" Riku yells at him madly.

"Huh?" Demyx looks up dumbly. "What ba—"

His response is immediate. He gets hit on the head and falls to the ground instantly.

"Oh... _THAT_ BALL!"

He's carried off the field, shouting his pleas on his wish for them being able to avenge him. His whole team is beyond angry, since Yuffie's team just scored the first point. Riku curses out loud.

Yuffie and her team, on the other hand, are dancing with victory, Kairi and Sora rush to hug the closest thing to them - _Naminé_. Who freezes completely and flushes. Sora then notices what he's doing, and blushes from the contact, letting go quickly and dropping his arms to his side.

"_What's wrong with me? The disease... AGAIN?"_ Steadily, he is starting to feel faint and clutches his head for support. "_What is Naminé doing to me...?"_

Slyly, Kairi watches his behavior, smiling with pleasure at her plan's progress.

Sora's fangirls, however, are seething and brimming with unhidden jealousy. All of them start making drastic attempts to have some body contact with Sora. Desperate to get the same reaction he gave to Naminé previously. Sadly for them, he is too dazed to even notice what is going on around him.

On the other hand, Yuffie is mocking Riku who protests that the game has just begun.

A 'Prick fangirl' who's listened attentively to the whole thing, starts to get angry and jealous of Yuffie, so she purposely collides with her in the midst of the game, making her momentarily lose concentration.

The ball flies aimlessly around the court...Time seems to stop as everyone's attention shifts to the ball soaring past Yuffie, only to be landing in Sora and Naminé's direction!

Kairi instinctively yells at Sora to get it while Yuffie yells the same at Naminé.

Both Sora and Naminé go after the ball, and collide at full force instead. Naminé fell on top of him and accidentally sprawls herself all over his body. With such close contact, Sora involuntarily freezes. And with every passing second, he begins to reach his max.

_"I can't... hold on... any longer..."_He thinks frantically, slowly losing consciousness under the pressure.

The ball finishes the job by hitting him right on the face.

He faints...


	6. She Spoke to Him

Chapter 6

Sora wakes up at the infirmary later. The first thing he sees is Tifa's delighted expression smiling angelically down at him.

He sits upright, and then feels the plaster covering the bridge of his nose.

"The ball hit your face this time. Your nose was bleeding uncontrollably when they brought you here... Are you feeling okay now? Does it hurt somewhere?"

Sora looks down sheepishly, scratching his spiky brown hair.

"No, I'm fine," He replies softly. "I can't believe I fainted again..." He adds to himself, frowning.

Tifa giggles. "Was it because... Naminé fell on top of you?"

"N-No!" Sora denies quickly, blushing and shifting uncomfortably. Then he freezes momentarily, and turns back to Tifa with a worried expression on his face. "What about Naminé? Is she okay?"

Tifa's smile stretches. "Perfectly fine!"

"That's good..." He breathes out a sigh of relief.

"Say, how is our plan going? Made any progress yet?"

Sora sighs, shaking his head. "Nope. None whatsoever."

"Ahh..." She sighs disappointedly. "Why? Is she still ignoring you?"

"Not only that, she's especially cold toward me for some reason! It's really annoying me!"

"Oh, Namine..." Tifa laughs.

"She's purposely not speaking in front of me too!"

Tifa shakes her head, smiling.

"Why is she so difficult?" Sora complains, frowning. "I'm being as nice as I can be here!"

Tifa sighs again, and then thinks to herself. A silent moment passes between them.

"I've got it!" She snaps suddenly, eyes bright.

"Huh?" Sora asks, startled a bit.

"I've figured a way that may help you get closer to Naminé!"

"What is it?" Sora edges closer, his eyes widening with curiosity.

With a mischievous smile, she begins explaining her plan...

XXX

It is Science Class, and Sora, of course, has not attended due to his injury prior in PE. Naminé is _relieved_. Now she won't have to bear with Sora annoying her in science class also, since he's her lab partner.

"I guess you'll have to be paired up with Axel for this experiment, since his partner is absent also," the teacher decides.

Namine's head prostrates in despair.

"_Great,"_ She thinks bitterly. _"Axel is even worse!"_

She looks up instantly at the sound of Axel pulling back the chair next to hers, a devilish smirk dancing on his lips.

His appearance always makes Naminé feel uneasy. Especially the tattoo under his eyes, it gives him a 'dangerous' look, and though some girls find it appealing, it is enough to make Naminé feel wary. He's quite popular too, but not as liked by the majority of school like Sora and his friends.

"Hey there Doll-face!" He waves a hand at her face, winking.

A startled Naminé diverts her gaze from him immediately, and then looks down at her lap instead.

"Shy, are we?" She hears Axel say, an amused chuckle in his voice. "That's cool."

To Naminé's relief, Axel actually quit pressuring her after that. He's more absorbed in checking the chemicals and tools they're going to use for the experiment to bother with her. She sighs to herself with relief.

"Leave this experiment to me," He tells Naminé all of a sudden, checking some random tubes on the table. "I've flunked this subject four –...or was it five? – times, so I should know how to do this experiment better than anyone else here!"

"_Amazing..."_ Namine thinks sarcastically, sweat-dropping.

"Amazing, huh?" Axel turns to face her with a smirk, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"_I-It's like he read my mind!"_ Naminé thinks frantically, her eyes widening in shock._"He is so weird!"_

"Y'know... Most people think I'm weird like it's a bad thing," Axel muses out loud. Naminé cringes. "But I say being weird makes you unique! Don't you think so too?"

"…"

"I ditched PE, faked a sick note that says I have diarrhea. I aint gonna be part of crazy sport showdowns that involves Yuffie, her Prick, and mad suicidal fangirls… I'm too wise than that," he smirks to himself proudly as Naminé mentally sweat-drops. "I bet you missed me there, didn't you Doll-face?"

"_Not really…"_ Naminé replies mentally.

Axel pretends to look hurt – as if he knows the answer – and then casually turns back to check the tubes. He seems to be especially keen on the ones with a red liquid in them. "Warning: Flammable. _Nice!_"

"_Time to get this experiment over and done with…" _Naminé thinks wearily, moving to do her part of the experiment.

"Let's get this experiment over and done with!" Axel echoes out loud, causing Naminé to freeze, a stupefied look on her face.

"Then we'll have time to chat and... _bond_," Axel says the last part with a seductive wink, bringing up a tube with a bubbling red chemical in it.

XXX

"...And you have to show it to her tomorrow during lunch break!" Tifa concludes their plan with a satisfied smile.

"Alrighty!" Sora nods, grinning at the idea. "Just one problem..."

"Hmm?" Tifa tilts her head curiously.

"At lunch break... Where does Naminé disappear to, exactly?"

She laughs, then points at the ceiling.

Sora's eyes widen. "SO YOU KNOW WHERE!"

"Of course. The rooftop!" She points up again, smiling at Sora's beaming face.

"FREAKIN' FINALLY!" He jumps up, punching the air excitedly. "I thought I'll NEVER find her hideout!"

Tifa laughs some more. "Well, now you know!"

Sora nods, grinning from ear to ear. "Get ready to slap Riku... _Kairi!_" He tells himself quietly, snickering.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, nothing!" Sora shakes his head, a sheepish smile on his face. "Well, I better get going now. Thanks, Ms. Lockhart!"

"You're always welcome! Take ca-"

Suddenly, as Sora is about to leave, Naminé comes barging in, covered in a red liquid. At first, Tifa and Sora are gaping at her in true terror, both of them thinking that she's hurt.

"Tifa, please help me! Our science experiment blew up-"

They sigh in relief when they realize it's not blood. Naminé stops immediately when she notices Sora, and closes her mouth instantly. Sora notes this and grins with total mischief.

"Who did you kill?" He jokes about her appearance, a giggle evident in his voice. He struggles to resist laughing out loud at how she looks, Naminé realizes this and pouts to herself cutely while blushing with embarrassment and gazing down at the floor.

Tifa snickers. Naminé turns and glares at her. She smiles sheepishly and then goes off to prepare clean clothes for her, leaving Sora and Naminé alone in an awkward moment.

"The roof, _huuh_?" Sora teases with a grin.

She freezes, a question mark all over her face.

"Your hideout during lunch-break..." Sora points out tauntingly, completely relishing the situation.

She cringes in defeat while he grins with victory. "I'll see you there tomorrow!" He flashes her playful 'I-win-in-your-face' grin one more time before leaving.

As soon as the door closes behind her, she sighs with irritation, and then gets angry at Tifa for telling him when she comes back with the clean uniform. "Why did you tell him?"

Unknown to her, Sora has stopped to eavesdrop from behind the office door. _"Woow… Naminé has some attitude!"_He remarks in his head, amazed.

Tifa smiles innocently, almost guilty.

"See, he's so mean! He just wants to annoy me..." Naminé whines, pouting.

"You got it all wrong; he just wants to be your friend!" Tifa defends him.

Sora mentally cheers for Tifa from behind the door.

"You can't force people to be your friend!"

"Give him a chance!"

Sora nods to himself forcefully in agreement.

"No." Naminé replies bluntly.

His head prostrates in despair.

Tifa sighs. "You're _soo_ stubborn! You remind me a lot of your father..."

Sora nods repeatedly in agreement with Tifa's last statement.

Without warning, Naminé leaves the room only to catch Sora eavesdropping.

They glare at each other blankly.

Then she opens her mouth to say "leave me alone" but she closes it quickly.

_"No, I can't speak. He_wants_me to speak, so I won't!"_She thinks determinedly.

_"Come on, take off your mask and show me the real you!"_ Sora thinks, anticipating her reaction.

Instead, Naminé produces her sketchbook and shows him a certain page, the clown portrait to be exact, but this time, with a new addition: she has "annoying" written under it.

Sora gasps dramatically, gaping at it in disbelief.

She smiles, almost evilly, and turns around to leave.

He snaps off his daze and runs after her. "HEY!"

She yelps quietly, and runs for it. He chases her around the empty hallways persistently, but she is way too fast.

Tidus and Wakka and the rest of the team appear out of nowhere and catch him from the back of his collar at one corner.

"Sora! Where were you? The coach wants to see us for practice ASAP!"

"W-What...? NO, WAIT! WAIT I SAY!" He protests as they drag him with them to the gym.

Naminé peeks from behind a corner and sighs with relief, Sora catches her figure while being dragged away and scowls. "I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIIIME!"

"Who you talking to ya?" Wakka asks suspiciously.

They look back, but Naminé has already disappeared behind the corner. The gang turn to look at him like he's crazy. He sulks to himself and let them drag him away.

XXX

After practice, Sora is at the boys' locker, changing. All of a sudden, he starts chuckling to himself. Riku, Wakka and Tidus watch him like he's lost his mind.

"Sora's been acting very funny these days ya?" Wakka comments.

"Funnier than usual you mean!" Tidus adds, laughing.

Riku smirks, looking back at Sora. "Thinking about Naminé?"

Tidus and Wakka zoom in at them quickly. "WHO?"

"Is she the same Naminé Strife who beat Riku at dodge ball?" Tidus asks excitedly.

Riku cringes, his left eye twitching comically at the memory.

"Ohhh! She is?" Wakka and Tidus gasp in amazement.

Sora chuckles to himself some more, interrupting their conversation.

They stare at him like he's insane.

"He's creeping me out..." Tidus says quietly.

"Let's get out of here ya?" Wakka and Tidus get out quickly, leaving Riku and Sora behind.

Riku throws his towel at Sora, who yelps then turns to glare at his attacker. "WHAT!"

"What are you laughing about idiot!"

Sora looks down sheepishly. "Oh, haha, I just remembered when Naminé-"

Riku leaves right away when he hears "Naminé", rolling his eyes.

"HEY! I DIDN'T FINISH!"

XXX

Sora and Kairi are at the lockers, getting ready to leave since school's over for the day.

"How are you? You got hit pretty bad, I was worried," Kairi mentions the volley ball accident.

"I'm totally fine now, don't worry!" Sora assures her, smiling warmly at his best friend. "Oh! I forgot to ask you guys… who won the game?"

"It was cancelled... Coach is worried about you, said you 'don't seem to be in the right mind lately'" She says with a small teasing smile. "He's wondering what's wrong with you."

"I wanna know what's wrong with me too..." Sora sighs, frowning at his locker. "Why is it so hard trying to be her friend?" He tells himself quietly.

Kairi sighs in exasperation, slamming her locker shut and then leaning on it. "Isn't it obvious by now? You're _in LOVE with her!_ Face it! Deal with it! GEEZ, YOU'RE _WAY_ TOO SLOW!"

Sora is taken aback by her outburst, and more specifically, her words. "Wh-What... N-No I-I'm not... I m-mean..." He stutters, a perplexed expression on his face. "It's impossible! Naminé and me... I don't think of Naminé like that... Wait... Well, _maybe_ a little... Er, whatever, it doesn't matter anyway! Naminé doesn't like me. Not that I _want_ her to like me! And plus she thinks I'm annoying!" Sora keeps ranting nervously.

Kairi rolls her eyes. "Admit it! You so desperately want to impress Naminé… Because you LIKE HER! Just give up and admit it to yourself already!"

"NO! LOVE CAN'T BEAT ME!"

At this instant, he sees Naminé coming to her locker a bit further ahead of them and panics. "Na-Naminé..!" He accidentally closes the locker door on his finger and curses, then brings it up to his mouth and starts sucking it. "Crap!"

Kairi snickers. "Sora, I think you should admit it to yourself before you get hurt."

Sora turns to her swiftly. "You're wrong! Wrong, I tell you! WRONG! Naminé and me will be just good friends! You'll see!" He concludes determinedly with a clenched fist.

"We'll see..." Kairi shrugs innocently before turning to her locker, a playful smile on her face.

Sora pouts, irritated, but then a mischievous glint appears in his eyes. "Oh, Kairi?"

"Hm?"

"You lose."

"Huh?" Kairi turns to face him, a confused look on her face.

"Riku is standing over there, why don't you go slap him now?" Sora points at a not so far away Riku leaning on his locker while checking his cell phone.

Kairi's eyes widen in surprise. "Don't tell me you...!"

"Yup! I win. I figured out where Naminé hides during lunch break!" Sora laughs evilly at Kairi's defeated, and dreadful, expression.

"Where?" She asks in a defeated tone.

"The rooftop." Sora replies, grinning from ear to ear.

She smacks her forehead. "Figures!"

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, GO GO GO!" Yuffie startles them both by appearing out of nowhere, then pushing Kairi to where Riku is standing, and retreating instantly back to Sora's side.

"Yuffie!" Sora blinks, surprised.

"Howdy!" Yuffie waves at him, then does the 'zip-your-mouth' gesture. "Let's just watch okay? OOOH, THIS IS GOING TO BE GOOD!" She points back at Riku and Kairi, watching them with big anticipating eyes. Sora is watching them next to her, just as thrilled.

Meanwhile, Riku raises an eyebrow, looking at Kairi questioningly. "What's wrong?"

Kairi advances carefully, gazing at the floor, obviously nervous.

Riku watches her curiously, and then a smirk stretches on his face. He leans in, coming face-to-face with Kairi. "What, are you going to confess to me or something?" He asks seductively.

Kairi's immediate reaction is to push his face away, so she slaps him. Yuffie and Sora gasp in the background, their eyes almost bulging out in disbelief.

"SHE DID IT!" They yell at each other excitedly. "SHE ACTUALLY DID IT!"

Kairi stares down at her hand in shock, then back at Riku, who's busy caressing his cheek where she's slapped him.

"Geez, I was just kidding alright! You didn't have to take it so seriously!" He leans back in annoyance.

Kairi starts grinning slowly, then laughing out loud nervously. "I...I DID IT!" She turns to where Yuffie and Sora are standing, sending them the victory sign. "I DID IT!"

Yuffie and Sora salute her from afar, admiring her bravery. Riku stares dumbly at the whole thing, then gives up trying to understand what's going on and shakes his head. "I don't even want to know..." He says, walking way while wondering why his friends are psychos.

XXX

As soon as they leave the school building, Sora spots Naminé walking ahead of them by herself and rushes to her. Kairi, Riku and Yuffie glance at each other with clear curiosity and follow behind.

"I FINALLY CAUGHT YOU!" Sora blocks her way, smiling evilly.

Naminé steps back, troubled.

They glare at each other for a moment.

Kairi appears behind Sora and smacks him on the head, breaking his glare. "What are you doing to the poor girl this time?"

Sora snorts at "poor girl".

Yuffie stands next to Naminé, equally mad at Sora.

"Yuffie, you too?" Sora asks in disbelief, disappointed.

"Naminé is awesome! She hit Riku at dodge ball, so I like her!" Yuffie explains confidently.

Riku cringes at the mention of it in the background.

"Again! They should forget it already..." He complains to himself quietly.

"She's the devil," Sora mumbles to himself, crossing his arms behind his head carelessly.

Kairi and Yuffie gasp in shock while Riku raises a questioning eyebrow.

"It's true!" Sora insists, a teasing smile on his face when he notes Naminé panicking a bit.

Kairi and Yuffie put an arm around Namine, scowling.

"What are you saying, Sora? She's an ANGEL! Look at her!" Kairi hisses at Sora. Yuffie agrees, then snuggles an uncomfortable Naminé tighter.

Sora gasps dramatically. "HAH! She may look innocent on the outside, but that's just a façade! She actually has one heck of an attitude!"

"Sora, what happened to you? How can you say this about Naminé?" Kairi demands.

He shrugs. "It's the truth! She's not timid, or innocent... She's wicked! She even called me annoying... and she drew a portrait of me as a clown!"

Kairi and Yuffie roll their eyes, not believing a word he's said.

"Are you sure you're talking about Naminé?" Kairi asks unsurely.

"Sora, you're such a liar! There's no way Naminé would do this!" Yuffie adds.

Naminé hides a small smile between them. Sora, being the only one who's caught it, scowls. Then, quickly his scowl turns into a scheming smirk. "I HAVE PROOF!" He exclaims, then snatches Naminé's sketchbook from her and looks for the clown portrait, but unfortunately for him, he doesn't find it. He keeps flipping through the pages like crazy, but still there isn't a sign of it. "WHAT? No way! It should be here, where is it?" He glances back at Yuffie and Kairi, they're both glaring at him impatiently.

"You're unbelievable, Sora!" Kairi shakes her head, disappointed.

"IT WAS THERE! I SWEAR!" He glances at Naminé, standing innocently between them. "She must've torn it off!" Namine tries to hide a growing smile. "LOOK, SHE'S SMILING! SHE'S CONFESSING HER CRIIME!"

Kairi puts her hands at her hips. "You want to _die?_" She hisses dangerously.

_"Never mess with Kairi when she's angry..."_Sora thinks, gulping nervously.

"Don't mind him Naminé!" Kairi tells her softly. Naminé nods shyly, and then slowly makes her escape.

"Bye bye!" Kairi and Yuffie wave goodbye at her from afar. Then they turn to glare at Sora, who looks down instantly, unable to meet their death glares.

"Come on, Riku!" Kairi snaps, huffing. They walk off, leaving Sora behind.

Riku stops when he passes Sora. "Smooth, man. Smooth…" He jokes, smirking.

_"Some day, I'll show you her true colors! I will show you allll!"_ Sora puffs childishly then follows them, sulking.

XXX

Cloud picks up Naminé, who is smiling when she's remembered Sora's reaction. Cloud notes this when she gets into the car, and smiles warmly.

"You're smiling..." He points out happily.

She blushes and looks down at her skirt.

"How was your day?"

She smiles again, then looks out the window, and watches as Sora tries to escape the fangirls.

"It was... Amusing."

XXX

The gang; Sora, Kairi, Riku and Yuffie are hanging out together after school in their usual favorite spot, Star Bucks.

Yuffie is filling in her friends with the latest gossips. Kairi is listening attentively while Riku is checking on his cell phone, pretending to listen. Sora, on the other hand, is distracted with something.

"Did ya know? Isabella's coming back to school next week!" Yuffie says.

"I know. It's so depressing!" Kairi replies with a tired sigh.

"Think she's still holding a grudge against you?" Riku interjects, looking up from his cell phone for once.

"Knowing her, there's no doubt about it," Kairi snorts. "Worse, I think she might switch to Naminé from now on..." She trails off dreadfully.

It gets silent for a while. Suddenly, Sora feels their eyes on him. He looks up slowly from the table to find them all giving him the _'you have something to add?'_ stare.

"Ya?" He adds lamely, mimicking their friend Wakka.

They raise an eyebrow simultaneously.

"Something's wrong with him today…" Riku mutters thoughtfully.

"Definitely," Kairi adds, narrowing her eyes at Sora, as if she's analyzing him.

"Yeah! It's the first time we speak you-know-who's name without getting any reaction from him..." Yuffie leans in, studying Sora up-close while holding an imaginary magnifying glass that's pointed at him for some reason.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Sora pushes her back lightly to her seat, and then gets back to what he's been doing.

"So, who's going to Selphie's party tonight?" Kairi distracts them from Sora.

"Meee!" Yuffie exclaims excitedly, raising her hand in the air. "Her parties ROCK!"

"I'm going too!" Kairi says, giggling at Yuffie's enthusiasm. "What about you Riku?"

"I've got a date with Solana tonight, can't go."

"You're such a playboy. Why can't you settle with one girl for once?" Kairi shakes her head while sighing.

"'Cause he's a prick!" Yuffie blurts out angrily before thinking.

Riku smirks to himself while pretending to ignore her by checking a new message on his cell phone.

Kairi sweat-drops, and then glances sideways at Sora sitting next to her, totally engrossed with something.

"Sora, what are you doing?" She asks curiously. "You seem pretty off today."

Sora, alarmed, quickly shields what he was doing with his body in an attempt to hide it from her.

"Uh, nothing!" He answers quickly.

Kairi is smarter than that, though. "Show me."

She tries to pull him away, but he resists. "I said it's nothing!"

"It's not nothing! SHOW ME!"

Yuffie quickly snatches the object that's occupying Sora while he's distracted by Kairi. She turns it over, looks at it and blinks, then blinks again. Finally, she bursts off laughing.

It's a sketchbook. Sora has been busy drawing - or _attempting_ to draw - something on it, apparently.

Sora hangs his head low, muttering few curses under his breath, clearly embarrassed. Yuffie clutches her stomach from laughing so hard. Riku curiously takes the sketchbook from her. He bursts out chuckling when he sees it.

"I wanna see!" Kairi snatches the sketchbook from Riku, and like the two before her, bursts off laughing.

"I bet he's doing it because of Naminé! Bwahahahaha!" Yuffie exclaims before going into another fit of laughter.

"Awww... This is _so_ cute Sora!" Kairi teases him, grinning with mischief.

"This is epic. Sora, drawing..." Riku chuckles some more, shaking his head.

Sora pouts angrily, blushing hard from embarrassment.

"You call this drawings? Even my 4-year-old sister can draw better than _this_!" Yuffie is laughing so hard, she looks like she is beginning to hurt.

"I'M GOING HOME!" Sora stands up abruptly, grabs the sketchbook from Kairi, and storms off. Still followed by Yuffie's maniacal laughter.

Once Sora has left, Kairi turns to Yuffie and Riku guiltily. "We were a little harsh..."

Yuffie finally stops laughing. "Naah... It's _Sora_ we're talking about!" She says, waving her head dismissively.

"Yeah. He'll get over it... Like usual," Riku adds before focusing back on his cell phone.

XXX

_Sora's home_

Sora comes in the kitchen, obviously hungry. There, near the dinner table, his father, Squall, is sitting. He notes the plaster on Sora's nose and around his finger.

"Did you get into a fight?" Squall asks immediately.

"N-No... I got hit on the face during a volley ball match, and then I was distracted and… accidentally closed the locker on my finger..."

"Idiot," Squall snorts. "Thinking about this... Naminé?"

Sora perks up; annoyed by the fact that everybody seems to be teasing him about Naminé today.

"Why should my whole world revolve around Naminé? I DON'T SEE HER THAT WAY OKAY!" He stomps off toward the stairs to his room.

"Whatever you say, son..." Squall says casually, smirking a bit. "I was just worried that you got yourself into a fight. It's been a long time since you got into one. Last time was when you were in middle school, if I remember right... It was with Riku."

Sora stops and turns back to sit on the chair next to his dad's. "Yeah," he smiles distantly at the memory. "He used to be a delinquent…"

"And he was bullying you before, but you didn't tell me a thing about it," he scowls at his son scoldingly. Sora hangs his head low sheepishly in response. "He used to beat you up pretty bad too."

"But he changed…" Sora says softly.

"_You _changed him. He became your best friend. And you've never once used violence…" Squall's expression softens as he pats his son on the back. "Son, I've never told you this before but I'm very proud of you…"

Sora grins back sheepishly. "Dad?"

"Hm?"

"Since you're proud of me, and you're in such a good mood and everything... Maybe you're ready to see my report card..."

Squall winces a bit. "They gave you that already? God help me."

Sora smiles awkwardly, digging for the report card hidden in his backpack. "You ready?"

"I'm used to this by now," Squall says tiredly.

"Prepared?"

"I'm always prepared son. Give it to me."

"Breathe in, exhale..."

"JUST GIVE ME THE DAMN PAPER SON!"

"No, no, Dad... This is wrong! You gotta be _calm_! You gotta be calm... So you can react to it rationally!"

Squall stares at Sora patiently, but his patience is beginning to wear off. "I'm calm," he sighs.

"Good. Now remember-"

"Sora, are you giving me the damn paper or not?"

"Okay, okay... Here." Sora hands over his report card hesitantly.

Squall sighs deeply before checking on the paper. Sora watches him tensely. "No Fs so far," Squall mutters. "That's a relief..."

"You obviously didn't get to Science yet..." Sora mumbles to himself.

Surprisingly, Squall is very calm about the grades. "Not bad. You got only one F, I'm proud of you," Squall says casually while looking up from the paper.

Sora stares comically at his dad like he's gone insane. "No. No... Can't be... This is not right!" Sora shakes his head with disbelief.

Squall watches him apathetically.

"Are you playing a cruel joke on me?" Sora pouts, narrowing his eyes at his dad.

"Whatever you mean, son?" Squall asks nonchalantly, turning back to his plate and eating calmly.

Bemused, Sora points at his father with a shaking finger while smirking triumphantly, "I knew it! You're up to something aren't you?"

Squall pretends to sigh wearily.

"I know you too much dad! Your little mind games will work on me no more!" Sora crosses his arms in front of him with confidence.

Squall chuckles, causing Sora to pout deeper.

"Do you WANT me to yell at you?" Squall finally asks, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"No, I just want you to be normal!"

Suddenly, Sora's mom, Rinoa, enters the kitchen.

"Mooom! Something is wrong with dad! What did you feed him today?" Sora asks seriously, causing Rinoa to chuckle and Squall to roll his eyes in response.

"I don't know why you're so worked up about it son," Squall shrugs. "You can always get into the military. Although... They'll have to shave off that bush you call hair first…" He points at his son's spiky brown hair with a small, barely notable mischievous smile.

"No...!" An appalled Sora gasps, gaping at his dad while clutching on his precious hair.

"Oh, stop teasing him Squall!" Rinoa laughs at her son's reaction in the background.

"It's Leon," Squall frowns at his wife automatically.

Rinoa giggles, exchanging a playful smile with Sora. "He's just teasing you darling,"

Sora visibly relaxes._ "I knew it! Dad and his stupid mind games!"_

XXX

After dinner, Sora goes up to his room. Lying on his bed, he spends the rest of the night drawing on his sketchbook. It's 3 in the morning when he finally finishes it.

"YES!" He exclaims loudly, jumping up on his bed and holding the sketchbook high up in front of him like a trophy. "I can't wait to show it to Naminé!"

He grins up at his drawing proudly, mentally imagining scenes of Naminé's uncharacteristic reaction to it tomorrow.

"SOORRRRAAAA!" Squall yells angrily from his room, disturbed by the noise.

"Oops!" Sora winces to himself. Then suddenly, he hears angry footsteps marching toward his bedroom.

"I CAN'T WAIT TO GET TO YOUR ROOM AND PUNCH YOU TO SLEEP!"

Almost instantly, Sora slides under the cover of his bed to hide himself, and then pretends to snore loudly.

XXX

**Naminé's POV**

It's the first thing in the morning, and the first think I like to hear in the morning, is peace and quiet. But instead, what do I get? A mob of fangirls chasing after a sprinting Sora, I let out a silent sigh. Why do they have to be so noisy in the morning? It's not even 8 am yet.

Reaching my locker, I extend my hand to get my books out when I hear a panting sound next to me. Absentmindedly, I turn my head to see a groveling Sora, collapsed on the ground and making a few jerks every now and then. So that's why there was a strange panting sound there, but why is he here? It's not a very good hiding place…

"Hey Naminé, I've got something to show you. It's VERY IMPORTANT! I'll see you at the rooftop at lunch! Don't think about ditching me! 'Cause I'll find you!" Staggering slightly, he finds some strength to get up, still hunching and gasping for air. No one can not feel sorry for him. Except me I guess, I'll let him suffer a bit, if he wanted to catch air and hide, he would find another person to annoy to death.

"THERE HE IS!" A strawberry blonde hair girl shrieks to her allies as she spots Sora next to me. I pray that Isabella isn't among them; if she is I'm dead meat.

Sora starts to visibly panic beside me as well, "GOTTA GO! SEE YOU AT LUNCH!" He runs off, chased off by the mob, or should I say dashes off? A gust of wind passes by me as they run after him.

Mentally, I sweat-drop. My mind starts to wonder and I am forced to think of this: what am I going to do during lunch, or more specifically, where do I go? Wherever Sora goes, there will be hoards of people, I will be certain to get a LOT of attention, and an incident like with Isabella will happen again for sure.

I will go, and it's all Sora's fault for making me so curious to see this 'important' thing he plans to show me.

I can just avoid him and go to the Library with Olette. She would read one of her Romance novels, and I would be absorbed in my drawings, in perfect silence, just the way we like it.

But no, I can't. I'm curious. And when I'm curious, I can't help myself. Besides, it's just us up on the rooftop, and Sora is easy to deal with. He isn't so frightening to me anymore, especially when alone.

"SORAA YOU GOTTA TEACH ME HOW TO PLAY BASKET BALL! YOU PROMISED!" Demyx howls as he runs after the mob, hands flailing in the air helplessly, demanding for attention.

I sweat-drop once more when another person whizzes by me. Again.

"SORAAA, ARE YOU JOINING OUR SCHOOL BAND OR WHAT! WE NEED YOU!" Rikku yells after him.

Then ANOTHER person whizzes by me. "WHY DIDN'T YOU COME TO MY PARTY YESTERDAY!" Selphie whines while running after Sora.

Unforunately, before any other person can whizz by me again, the bell rings. Better hurry and head to class, I need to keep a good grade record, for my father's sake. I don't wish to trouble my father; he has enough on his shoulders.

Entering the classroom, I take my usual seat at the back of the classroom. Sora is already in the seat next to me, dozing off. He must really be tired. For the next 3 periods, he's been sleeping in class, and all the teachers have been yelling at him. More than once. He sure needs to get more sleep, crash in bed when he gets home perhaps. But why do I care? I'm supposed to hate him, which I do! And I always will, how can I like him? What has he ever done for me? All that he's done is annoy the hell out of me and get me targeted by his fangirls! He may have done it on purpose too!

XXX

The Lunch Bell rings, Sora follows me from the classroom, barely avoiding his fangirls and friends. Getting to the rooftop, I sit down in my usual place; he grins and crawls up next to me. He has something under his arm that I can't see. Must be whatever it is that he wants to show me: the reason he's called me here. The reason _I_ let myself be here.

Awkwardly, he opens a sketchbook – the object he's been hiding from me – to a certain page and pushes it under my face, clearly proud but ashamed.

I blink it repeatedly.

These are drawings from a 4 year old. No, scratch that, it's a broad description. A 4 year old can draw better than this. I sweat-drop yet again.

"What do you think?" He asks eagerly, leaning too close to me than I was comfortable with, instinctively I back away from him. Slowly, I feel a smile creep up on my lips, and unwillingly, a small bunch of giggles escape my closed lips.

He starts grinning widely too. "Hey, don't laugh at me! This is a great piece of art and you know it!"

I can't help it; I start to giggle even harder than before.

He smiles softly, pleased with himself somehow. "There, you should laugh more…"

I stop laughing immediately and pout instead. I can't let Sora be friendly with me. He's Sora, the most popular guy in school and I'm… me. A friendship between us is out of question!

"So, my drawing sucks huh?" Sora asks suddenly with a sheepish grin.

I nod unhesitatingly.

He is still grinning, "Teach me," he says, all too eager.

I blankly look at him, blinking in surprise.

"Teach me to draw better," he repeats.

I look down, thinking. What do I do? I can't get any more involved with him than I already am. I _can't_. I can't have another Isabella scenario happening…

"Please," He shows me his oh-so famous puppy face. I bite on my lips. _What do I do?_

"I don't wanna fail art..." He continues softly, "I'm failing everything else. Well except for PE, but you know that." He grins again brightly, as if he's trying to dazzle me. If that's really what he's trying to do, then he has just succeeded.

I sigh out loud, "A-Alright."

He grins, wider, and I keep thinking his face will break but how much he expands his grin, each time.

"AAALLRIIIGHTTT!" He punches the air triumphantly.

I have to smile up at him, his grins are contagious, and yet another giggle escapes my lip from his sudden enthusiasm. His face is priceless, his eyes are shinning with undisguised glory, it's annoying.

Suddenly he stops short. He scratches the back of his head, still grinning down at me like a doofus, "Hehe... Th-The lessons start t-tomorrow then..."

I nod.

"Same time, same place?"

I nod again; my neck is starting to hurt.

"C-Cool…" He looks down awkwardly, and then reluctantly starts to walk away; turning slowly and almost colliding face first with the wall. He chuckles nervously at me before finding the stairs this time.

"Sh-She... SHE SPOKE TO ME! YEESSSSSSSS!" He shouts, clearly loud enough for me to hear him. I shake my head at his childishness, smiling to myself once more.

XXX

**GENERAL POV**

Sora goes back to his friends, standing near their lockers. They stare at him curiously. He's all smiles and grins. Riku and Kairi exchange a glance, and then sigh.

"Naminé." They say tiredly at the same time. Whatever it is, Naminé seems to be the answer to everything when it comes to Sora these days.

"Why so happy?" Kairi asks an absentminded Sora, grinning and occasionally chuckling at his locker as if it's telling him jokes. "What happened?"

"Did Naminé say something to you?" Riku, leaning on his locker, asks indifferently.

Sora's eyes widen in shock. He turns to Riku swiftly. "How did you know?"

Riku emits a small chuckle while Kairi gasps excitedly.

"Did she confess to you or something?" Riku asks coolly.

"No way!" Kairi turns to Riku swiftly. "I don't think Naminé likes Sora..."

"Thanks," Sora tells her sarcastically.

"**Yet**," Kairi adds, emphasizing on the word.

"H-Hey! I don't want her to like me!" Sora starts blabbering nervously. "No, I mean, I _want_ her to like me... but, as a _friend_!"

"Yeah, sure," Kairi replies nonchalantly, smiling. Riku shakes his head at his best friend's immatureness before slipping off coolly.

"So! Tell me what she said!" Kairi turns to Sora excitedly, the cupid in her bursting free once more.

"Alright," Sora tells her.

"TELL ME!" Kairi demands impatiently.

"Alright!"

"TELL ME ALREADY!"

"I TOLD YOU, _ALRIGHT_!"

"YOU DIDN'T!"

"I JUST DID!"

Kairi breathes in and out, trying to calm herself.

"Alright, then tell me again."

"That's it!" Sora exclaims while pointing a dramatic finger at her.

"SORA, ARE YOU GOING TO TELL ME OR WHAT?" Kairi explodes.

"ARE YOU STUPID? I _TOLD_ YOU SHE SAID _'ALRIGHT'_!"

"Alright...?" Kairi is caught off-guard, confused.

Sora nods forcefully.

"She said 'alright'?"

"Yep!"

"..."

"What?" He asks confusedly when he sees her blank expression.

"That's it?"

He nods again.

She snickers and shakes her head. "Good for you," she says before slipping off after Riku.

"What?" Sora asks again, completely confused.

XXX

**Naminé's POV**

It's a new day, and it starts off with the fangirls attacking and chasing Sora around the school, as always. You really have to feel sorry for him sometimes.

I walk in the opposite direction of the commotion and head to my seat in class. Sora isn't there... yet. I'm really not looking forward to Lunch; I don't want to get any closer to him…

XXX

**GENERAL POV**

_Math class…_

Sora enters the class room; it's a good day... Right beside Naminé, teacher is not here yet, taking a while too, must be absent, Sora thinks happily, a party going on inside of him.

Suddenly, as Sora's busy sending carefree smiles and grins to the troubled blond sitting next to him, the Teacher finally comes in, the smiles and grins slip off his face instantly, and his hopes shatter.

A fangirl turns to Sora. "Are you ready for the quiz Sora?" She's obviously trying to engage into a conversation with him. She's picked a good topic too.

"Q-Quiz?" Sora asks a bit frantically. _"Quiz? What Quiz?"_

He takes a quick glance around the class room to find them all carrying their notebooks, obviously reviewing for this 'quiz'. Even Naminé, sitting next to him, is doing the same.

He turns to the random fangirl then, forcing out a grin. "Y-Yeah. Totally…" He lies.

"Oh, that's good! It seems like it'll be very hard..."

"R-Really?"

"Good luck Sora!" She smiles cutely before turning back to focus on her notebook.

"_Thanks, I'll need it!"_Sora thinks panicky.

He turns to stare at Naminé again; she's smiling mischievously at him. "_She knows_," Sora notes mentally. "_She knows I'm in trouble! And she's relishing it too!"_He pouts at her to show his dissatisfaction.

She quickly sticks out her tongue at him, and then turns the other way before anyone else can notice.

Sora stares at her in disbelief. "_You two-faced devil!"_ Quickly, he steals Naminé's notebook from her and begins memorizing anything that will save him from another F.

Naminé scowls at him, but what can she do? Any reaction from her will attract attention. She'll think of her revenge later. She's already prepared well for the quiz. She doesn't need her notebook.

Suddenly, the teacher declares that the quiz is postponed.

Sora immediately relaxes, thanking the heavens for his good luck, and then throws Naminé her notebook back.

Naminé is clearly irritated, Sora smiles at her innocently to provoke her, but instead, she simply turns the other way, ignoring him completely, knowing full well that'll piss him off.

He pouts to himself in annoyance and turns to face their teacher again, in a sulky mood this time.

"Alright, in order to solve this math problem, we need to solve this equation. Can someone tell me what's eleven plus one? Selphie?" Their random math teacher asks the brunette who's busy checking her fingernails.

"Uhh..." Selphie drawls out like an idiot.

The teacher sweat-drops. "Okaay... How about you, Tidus?"

Tidus, who's been busy doodling on his desk, looks up at the teacher confusedly. "Uh, what's the question?"

"Pay attention to the lesson next time Tidus," she tells him warningly before turning to the chubby boy behind him. "Pence?"

Pence rushes to hide the potato chips he was 'secretly' devouring .

"PENCE, ARE YOU EATING IN MY CLASS?"

Quickly, he stashes the food safely under his desk. The teacher sighs, and then turns to Hayner sitting behind him. "Hayner?"

"Zzz..." He's sleeping and drooling on his book, like usual.

Their teacher sweat-drops, thinking an F will certainly make Hayner wide awake later. She goes back to Selphie. "Selphie, have you figured it out yet?"

"Uhhh..."

"Axel, please tell me you know the answer!" The teacher asks the red-head sitting on one of the front desks desperately.

Axel takes off his MP3, a confident look on his face. "Easy. Eleven plus one equals three ones!"

_Silence._

"I'm right am I? I know I'm right! I flunked this subject three times! Isn't that right, Larxene?" He turns around to the blonde behind him.

Larxene bursts the bubble gum she's been chewing, a bored look on her face, but says nothing.

"How about you, Larxene? Surely, you know the answer?" Their teacher is beyond desperate right now.

"Eleven?" Larxene guesses carelessly.

Their teacher's smile is twitching creepily by now. "And by what LOGIC did you come up with that answer, dear?"

"What, it wasn't multiplication?"

"Demyx?" The teacher turns swiftly to ask the cowardly blond behind her, checking his hairstyle with the mirror he's always kept in his pocket.

He drops his mirror on his desk and panics dramatically while checking his fingers."BUT I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FINGERS!"

"…" Quietly, she turns back to Selphie. "Selphie, any luck yet?"

"Uhhhh..."

Wakka raises a hand.

"Yes, Wakka?" Their teacher's face brightens immensely with hope. "You look like you know the answer, oh thank heavens! What is eleven plus one, Wakka? Please share the answer with the class!"

"I think you're wrong, Miss. It's not one, that's seven you wrote on the whiteboard ya?"

Abruptly, the teacher turns to Sora swiftly, pounding at his desk. Sora stares at her with wide open eyes, startled.

"Sora! _Please_, end this disgrace!"

"Huh? M-Me? Wait, let me think… I think I know this one... Uhh..."

"Oh my God..." The teacher covers her mouth in disbelief. "How in the world did you make it to High school?"

"It's... twelve, right?" Sora answers uncertainly.

"THANK YOU!" The teacher beams suddenly, startling Sora once more.

Sora earns a round of applause, mainly from the fangirls. Naminé and Olette, who's seated a bit further in front of the blonde, exchange a glance, sweat-dropping. They're the only 'geniuses' of the class, it seems. If it weren't for them, the teacher would have quit her job a long time ago.

Before the class ends, the teacher declares that some students need tutoring after school, by Olette. Sora is just about to leave when their teacher calls him.

"We need to talk."

"Er, about what?" Sora asks, troubled.

"Your grades," She tells him sternly.

"Oh crap," He curses quietly. "What about them?"

"They're bad. Why don't you pay attention in class? Sora, you have potential. You're a good student. I won't compare you to the rest. All you need is a little push. I'm here to help you. Now tell me, why do you not pay attention to me in class? Am I too boring?"

"_Bingo_," Sora answers in his head.

"Do you find difficulty understanding my lessons?"

"_Yes."_

"What do you not understand?"

"_Everything."_

"You can always ask for my help if you face any difficulty. I'll always be here to assist you. How about you join them in their after school lessons?"

"But I got it right at the end! And my grades aren't _that_ bad!" Sora whines.

"I suppose you're right…" She sighs. "But I want you to be even better."

Olette and Naminé approach them.

"Oh, Naminé, I need you to assist Olette with the after school lessons," the teacher tells them.

Naminé is a bit troubled, but Olette agrees for her excitedly, glad she has Naminé with her, apparently.

"I will make sure to give you credit for your work," the teacher adds.

"Wait a minute!" Sora jumps back in. "I need tutoring too!"

"But I thought you said you don't-"

"I DO! I want to get better! You said so yourself! YOU want me to too!"

"Are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure! It's important... for my future... y'know?"

"Right," The teacher smiles playfully while glancing knowingly at Naminé. "Okay then, don't forget to come!"

Olette rolls her eyes in the background while Naminé sweat-drops. _"He is definitely trying to annoy me on purpose!_ _I'll make him regret it!"_


	7. The Other Face of Namine

Chapter 7

It's another 'ordinary' day at Twilight High. Sora and his friends are at their usual table in the cafeteria, surrounded by people and fangirls. During the commotion, Kairi notices that Sora isn't his usual self today too. She sighs, and then hits him on the head to bring him back to reality like always.

"Ouch! Why did you do that?" Sora stands up abruptly, and then rubs his head where she hit him while glaring at her.

"What are you thinking about?"

He sits back down, frowning. "Olette moved out," he mumbles quietly.

A confused Kairi raises an eyebrow. "Huh? You want an Omelette?"

"_Olette_. She's Hayner's and Pence's friend. I see her hang out with Naminé sometimes. She transferred to another school."

"Who're Hayner and Pence?"

He sighs. "Never mind... Hey, I've got to go somewhere. See ya later!" He sneaks away from their friends and the fangirls, then quickly dashes out the cafeteria.

Kairi watches him leave, blinking, and then shrugs casually before getting back to her meal.

XXX

Sora almost bumps into someone on his way running to his destination. But he stops just in time before colliding. "Sorry!" He says quickly before looking up.

There, in front of him, stands Isabella. The same Isabella that's got him into trouble and almost expelled a few weeks ago.

"I-Isabella!" He gapes at her in surprise.

Looking down, she says nervously with a shy smile, "Hi Sora..."

"Uhm... Hi," Sora replies awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.

An awkward silence fills the air before Sora speaks up again, "You're... back?"

She nods, and then says haughtily, "Uh, duh! Everybody's talking about it!"

Sora feels like rolling his eyes, but instead, he just forces out a smile. "I see. I must be not paying attention then!"

Isabella smiles back sweetly, but to Sora, it seems a bit exaggerated. "Oh yeah, I was on my way to the cafeteria to say hi to you guys!" She says cheerfully all of a sudden.

"I see!" Sora replies hurriedly, his eyes are wandering somewhere behind Isabella. He really has to rush it if he wants to make it 'there' in time, before the lunch break ends.

Isabella notices this and her smile stretches forcibly, "I also want to say that I'm sorry!"

Sora's attention is back on her immediately, a surprised look on his face.

"I'm sorry for, you know, getting you, Riku, and Kairi into trouble."

"And Naminé," Sora adds for her sternly.

Faintly, Isabella's smile begins to waver, "And… Naminé..."

While scratching his head sheepishly, Sora says, "I'm sorry, too. For your head." He points at the bandage still on her forehead where she's been hit last time.

Isabella blushes, smiling somewhat sadly, "Oh Sora, you're so nice! After all what I did to you... I'm really sorry!"

Sora smiles back at her genuinely this time, surprising her, "It's OK. I forgive you."

Isabella beams, edging a bit closer toward Sora, "Thank you Sora!"

"Now I really have to go, see ya!" He runs past her in a rush, but then stops, as if he's forgotten something, he turns back to Isabella with a serious look on his face. "Just... promise me you won't hurt Naminé again, okay?"

Isabella forces out a smile again, "Never again, I promise!"

"Cool!" Sora grins at her happily, "See ya!" He dashes off again toward the direction of the stairs that leads to the rooftop.

Isabella keeps her smile on till he's out of sight, then a dark, hateful expression quickly replaces it.

"Naminé, Naminé, _Naminé_!" She chants angrily to herself, "HMPH! What does he like about that freak?"

XXX

It's the most perfect atmosphere for Naminé up on the rooftop. Quiet, peaceful, and most importantly, Sora-less. She's able to draw calmly without him annoying the hell out of her by asking her questions and talking nonstop.

That is, until Sora decides to show up and ruin it.

"Hiya Naminé!" He yells cheerfully as soon as he makes it up on the roof. "Miss me?"

"..."

Naminé keeps a nonchalant expression while biting on her sandwich aggressively, clearly irritated. Just for one day, why can't he leave her alone?

"Took a while till I was able to escape from the clutches of evil fangirls!" He says while chuckling, crawling to sit next to her.

"_Too bad they didn't catch him_," Naminé mentally remarks before saying out loud, "Do I look like I care?"

"Ouch!" He pretends to look hurt.

She ignores him, looking down at her food carelessly. She hasn't even realized how easy it is to be around Sora.

"Whatcha havin' for lunch?" He suddenly asks, peeking at her lunch box.

She shoves it away.

"Meanie!" He whines, pouting at her childishly.

"You'll just eat it all!"

Sora's latest hobby, apparently, is devouring Naminé's lunch boxes.

"Soo hungry..." He whines again, rubbing his belly and pouting cutely at a troubled Naminé glaring sideways at him. She hates it when he makes a puppy face. It's irresistible.

"What happened to the drawing lessons you wanted so much?"

"Oh, that..."

_"I knew it. He just wanted an excuse to annoy me,"_ she thinks with a dissatisfied pout.

Sora's stomach suddenly growls. He blushes, chuckling nervously.

She shakes her head while looking away from him. "Why don't know eat at the cafeteria with your friends like usual?" She tells him indifferently.

"Noo! I want to stay with Naminéee!"

"Why? It's boring to be with me!"

"_Can't he get the message? I DON'T WANT YOU HERE!"_ Naminé thinks angrily.

Sora shakes his head vehemently. "That's not true!" He says seriously, then teasingly, he adds, "I'm not gonna leave okay? Give it up!"

She curses silently under her breath. He chuckles in response, amused.

Naminé continues eating silently. She doesn't believe him. There must be a reason he's doing this, and it's that he wants to make her life a living hell. He must be relishing it too!

"You don't believe me, do you?" She hears him ask quietly.

She looks up at him. Suddenly, he has this serious look on his face. It's very rare on Sora, so she stops eating and simply continues staring at him.

"It's okay. You'll see through my sincere feelings toward you in time!" Then he yawns loudly while stretching.

"_There won't BE a "time"!"_Namine felt like screaming out loud. But instead, she decides to ignore him completely.

A serene atmosphere envelops them.

It's surprising how quickly Naminé has gotten used to Sora. Now she's able to be herself with him when they're alone. He's seen a part of her that nobody else has. But, ironically, both of them haven't realized this development in their 'relationship'.

XXX

_PE…_

Their Coach announces that today, they're having a race. First off are the boys. As the boys are busy getting ready for the race, Sora sneaks toward where Naminé's standing in the background, away from the others.

"Wish me luck!"

She pretends to not hear him, busy warming up by herself for the girls' race later, far away from the others.

Sora's used to this treatment by now, though. "If I win, you will have to admit that we're friends to the school!"

Naminé's eyes widen in both horror and shock at his declaration. But before she can object to his dare, he's already left to join the others.

Hayner and Pence approach her then. She stares at them warily.

"Hey! We're Olette's friends, remember us?" Hayner points at themselves, grinning.

"Y-Yes… O-Of course…" Naminé manages to reply quietly.

"Olette told us a lot about you…" Hayner says softly, making Naminé smile a little at the ground.

"If you need our help with anything, talk to us alright?" Pence tells her friendly.

She nods hesitantly.

Suddenly, the Coach whistles, signaling for the boys to line up. Hayner and Pence hurriedly wave at her before leaving.

"See ya around!" Hayner runs off first.

"Bye!" Pence grins and then hurries after the blond.

"Bye…" Naminé waves back at them as they are leaving while smiling timidly.

Meanwhile, Sora has been watching them from the distance while warming up for the race at the start line. He feels a bang of jealousy tightening his chest. He clutches it, frowning perplexedly to himself.

_The race begins shortly after…_

Kairi and the fangirls are, of course, cheering for Sora while Yuffie is busy cheering AGAINST Riku. Riku notices this and sweat-drops. Unfortunately for Yuffie, Selphie's and Riku's fangirls' loud cheering for him made hers nearly inaudible.

Meanwhile, Sora and Hayner surpass everyone. The fangirls are going wild. Naminé is probably the only one praying against Sora.

Suddenly, in the midst of the race, just as Sora is about to reach the finish line, he trips and collapses to the ground.

Naminé's prayer seems to have been answered, and Hayner wins the race at the last minute, followed by Riku in second place. It's not unusual, since Hayner's in the school's track team.

Meanwhile, as Naminé watches the whole thing in shock, Kairi and the fangirls hurry to Sora. And, like usual, he's carried away to the nurse's office…

XXX

Girls' race begins; Hayner and Pence are cheering for Naminé, in Olette's behalf. Kairi smiles encouragingly at her just before the race starts.

During the race, Yuffie is in the lead, Kairi and Naminé are not far behind. But then a 'Prick fangirl' causes Yuffie to trip and fall behind. Yuffie gets up with a growl and tackles the fangirl from behind; they both fall down and start wrestling on the ground. The boys are having fun watching two females wrestle, of course.

Meanwhile, Naminé crosses the finish line just before Kairi and wins. Nobody is aware of her victory though. They're too interested in the wrestle.

"_Thank God_," Naminé sighs with relief.

She hasn't noticed Hayner and Pence rushing to her.

"Hey Naminé! You were great!" Pence exclaims excitedly.

Naminé turns around warily to find them grinning at her.

"You were even faster than me! I'm jealous!" Hayner scratches the bridge of his nose sheepishly. "Olette was right about you, you ARE amazing! Great at everything!"

She smiles back at them shyly. "Th-Thanks…"

XXX

_At the nurse office…_

"Lately... I've noticed... She's spending a lot of time with Olette... And she seems to be having fun..." Sora tells Tifa a bit dejectedly.

Tifa smiles brightly, "That's great! You did it Sora!"

Sora forces himself to smile back, "Yeah... I've noticed that she's slowly opening up more..."

Tifa notes the displeasure in his voice, "What's the matter? Aren't you happy for her?"

"I am!" Sora hurriedly says, "I'm happy! I'm very happy... I mean, that's why I'm doing this right? Bursting her bubble? Finding her friends? Of course I'm glad…"

Tifa nods happily, "You're such a sweetheart Sora! I'm very grateful that you did this for me! I'll be sure to put a good word for you to the other teachers!" She promises with a wink.

Sora forces out a chuckle, "Cool…" He tries to keep the smile on his face, but deep down, he's not satisfied with this for some reason.

"Well, take care sweetie! I don't want to see you here every week, okay?"

Dejectedly, Sora nods before leaving the nurse's office.

"_Why are you sad Sora? You knew it would come to this one day. She'd find a friend, and it might not be you, but at least she won't be lonely anymore... And everything will go back just the way it was once you finish your job. You will have to let go... But, why are you dreading the thought...?"_

XXX

During the next couple of days, Naminé finds that whatever she wishes against Sora, _comes true!_ Like in the race, and then the next day, while he's harassing her like usual at the rooftop, eating from her lunch box, she's wished he'd choke in it! And he DID choke! If she didn't hand him her drink, he'd have choked to death!

Then while he's accompanying her out of school, she wished that the fangirls would appear and take the source of nuisance away, and they DID! They've come out of nowhere and swept him to God knows where in the blink of an eye!

And then, this other day, at the lockers, she's just come to school, and she's been expecting Sora to come greet her before being chased by fangirls like usual.

"_He's so annoying, why can't he be absent for ONE day?" _She's thought.

Then, to her utter shock, she's noticed that Kairi and Riku have come alone. Kairi notices her looking their way and comes only to tell her that Sora is absent, _because he's sick with a cold_.

_Day 1..._

After just confirming her super powers, she tries to put them to good use. They're her weapon to keep Sora away. But... poor him. She has to feel sorry for him.

First, she's caused him to fall in the race, then almost choke to death, and not to mention attacked by fangirls. Now he's sick because of her. The day is incredibly quiet without him, just like the way she likes.

But... incredibly lonely...

_Day 2..._

Is lonelier. She misses Olette, and, she dares to add, Sora too. She convinces herself that's not true. But... He has been sick for _too_ long!

Kairi comes up to the rooftop at lunch break this day to inform her that Sora will like it if she visits him. She gives her the address to Sora's house, winks, and then leaves her to think about it.

Like hell she'd go.

_Day 3..._

Sora's still not in school. People are starting to get concerned with his health. Now Naminé feels really guilty. She's torn between going to see him, or not. Finally, she says that if their teacher, Mrs Nameless Math Teacher is absent – and she rarely is – she will go.

But, miraculously, she is absent today. That determines it. Fate wants her to go.

After school, Naminé tells Tifa that she's going somewhere before going home, and asks her to tell that to her father. He'll only listen to her.

Later, she follows Sora's address, and finally arrives at his house. She looks around to see if there's any fangirls. None. Safe.

She will deliver these flowers, and go. That's it. If she's lucky, he's asleep. Damn him… if he sees her, he'll have this annoying idiotic grin on his face... she can practically picture the scene. So humiliating...

"Okay. I can do this. I can do this…" She tells herself softly, standing before the front door. Reluctantly, she rings the bell.

XXX

Inside Sora's house, Kairi and Riku have just left his room.

_The doorbell rings suddenly._

Running down the stairs towards the door, Kairi opens it to reveal an embarrassed looking Naminé, fidgeting with the edge of her dress. Clearly willing herself to be anywhere but here.

"Naminé! You came!" Beaming, Kairi pulls Naminé inside.

Riku stands above the stairs, peering down at them, saying that he is beyond shocked was an understatement, the fact that Naminé has actually shown up is something he's strongly believed will never happen, although he hid all of his shock behind his indifferent mask.

"His room is over there!" Kairi points Naminé toward the direction to Sora's room excitedly. "His parents are out, but make yourself at home!" She winks and then before Naminé can do anything, she shoves her inside Sora's room, grabs Riku and drags him outside the house with her.

Crawled up like a cocoon in the middle of his bed, Sora wails, "I don't want any of your icky medicine!"

Peeping his head from under his blanket, his eyes go wide in shock and disbelief. Rubbing his eyes repeatedly and blinking at Naminé, he comes with only one conclusion: "_Am I Dreaming?"_

"No way! It's an illusion!" Sora screams, jumping out of bed, he hurries up towards Naminé, red nose dripping, eye bags and pale skin, wobbling all over the floor. Naminé is thinking that not only does he_ act_ like a clown; he _looks _like one now too.

"Is it really you? Or am I seeing things?" He notices the flower in her hands and his jaw drops again.

Naminé pouts suddenly and throws the flowers at him. Then abruptly, she turns to leave with what's left of her pride.

"Whoa, wait, hold on!" He catches her arm, grinning idiotically. Naminé frowns, glaring back at him menacingly.

"Stay a bit longer…" Sora pleads softly.

_Silence_.

Naminé just stands there, one hand on her hips as Sora refuses to let go of her other arm.

Sora finally speaks, "I can't believe you came!"

It is more like a scream actually. It's also like a stab at Naminé's pride.

"That must mean something right?"

Namine freezes on the spot, clearly humiliated.

"And you even brought flowers!"

She mentally curses herself for coming. She doesn't deserve this humiliation.

"Thanks!" He inhales the flowers deeply.

Naminé starts smirking, if only he knows the _real_ meanings of these flowers, he won't he so grateful after all. Of course an idiot like him doesn't know.

While Sora is preoccupied with the flowers, Naminé makes her silent escape.

XXX

As Naminé walks back home, she notices Selphie and Yuffie coming her way. Desperately, she tries to avoid them, hunching her back slightly, and slowing her steps. But unfortunately for her, Yuffie notices her then exclaims out to the world, "THE GIRL WHO BEAT THE PRICK!"

Slowly, Naminé looks up at them, her sketchbook pulled closely to her chest.

Selphie happily exclaims, "Hey, it's Naminé!"

Shyly, Naminé replies, "H-Hello..." She looks down again, fidgeting with her dress.

"What are you doing near Sora's house?" Selphie questions, trying to squeeze some gossip out of her. Selphie's known to be the gossip queen of the school.

"..." Naminé fails to find an excuse. Biting her tongue hard, she begs God that they will just leave her alone.

"So what were we saying?" Yuffie randomly changes the subject while turning to Selphie. "OH YEAH! PRICK IS GOING DOWN TOMORROW!"

To Naminé, Yuffie's a life savior, without even noticing it.

"Stop calling Riku a 'prick', Yuffie! His name is RIKU!" Selphie retorts unhappily.

"Why are you defending Pretty Boy?"

"Pretty Boy... that suits him, I like it!" Selphie sighs dreamily.

Grabbing her opportunity, Naminé sneaks away while the two are arguing about the 'Prick'.

XXX

In Sora's house, Sora is still grinning over the flowers that Naminé has given him.

_Someone knocks the door._

He notices his mom, Rinoa, come in, returning from the supermarket with some snacks for Sora. Seeing the junk food, Sora's face light up, this is his luckiest day. Nothing can go wrong.

His mom enters the room slowly, taking her time. All Sora can see are the snacks in her hands, but as her other hand comes into view from behind her back, he wails in protest, "NOO! NOT THE ICKY MEDICINE!"

Chuckling at her son's reaction, she places the snacks on the far end of the room, much to Sora's dismay, and places the medicine next to his bed on the side table.

"MOM, NO! IF YOU LOVE ME, DON'T MAKE ME DRINK THIS!"

Rinoa laughs at her son's idiocy. Then she notices the Orange Lily beside him and frowns. "Honey… do you even know what an Orange Lily stands for?"

"Er... Flowers have meanings?"

"Flowers are beautiful, yes. But an Orange Lily means _hatred_, not necessarily a nice meaning. Ironic, beautiful by appearance and scent, but such a dark and depressing meaning..." His mom explains.

"H-HATRED? THIS FLOWER MEANS _HATRED_? NO WAY!"

"Sweetie, it's not such a big deal, the sender probably didn't know its meaning. She, or he, must have thought it looked nice, and bought it for you. Simple as that."

"Naminé isn't stupid... I bet she knows! She did it on purpose!" He mutters to himself quietly, pouting.

XXX

_"I'M LATE!" _Naminé inwardly screams as she runs to the school gates, too preoccupied to notice if anyone is staring at her, or even looking anywhere near her general direction.

"_How can I be late? I am never late! It's all Sora's fault! Damn Him! Should not have went… Should not have went last night. Stupid. What if he never finds out what the flowers meant? If he doesn't find out, he's going to think I LIKE him! Which is impossible! But what if he DOES find out…? He'd seek revenge, live to make sure my everyday school life was hell... Maybe even OUT of school! I'm such an idiot... Stupid...Arghh!'_

Bursting through the school entrance, Naminé turns one last corner when all of a sudden someone bashes straight at her, "HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!"

For a second, Naminé looks like she's about to lose her facade at this unknown stranger. Looking up, she waits for the person to leave, who is a random he, before cursing him.

"YOU WATCH IT! JERK! HMPH!"

Dusting off her skirt, she straightens up, picks up her sketchbook once more, and marches off towards her locker.

Unknown to her, Hayner and Pence were watching her in disbelief.

"DUDE, is that _Naminé?_" Pence nudges a dumbfounded Hayner.

Looking at the retreating figure, Pence and Hayner rub their eyes continuously, trying to sort out whether that has really happened, or if it has been just a dream.

"Naah! We must be imagining things!" They tell each other before going off to mind their own business.

XXX

First class. Sora isn't here. The fangirls are depressed.

But not Naminé. She's having the best day of her life. Now she won't have to confront him after that day!

But then, her hopes shatter instantly when Sora enters the classroom, and his eyes fall straight on Naminé, and this smirk on his face tells it all, _"I AM HERE JUST TO__ANNOY YOU! MUHAHAHAHA!" _She imagines him cry manically in her head.

He sits next to her like usual, he still appears to be sick though, runny red nose and sneezing every once and a while. Why has he come? One reason Naminé can think of: Revenge. She's fuming and drawing mad scribbles on her sketchbook.

The fangirls are pitying him, which is irritating Naminé for some reason…

"Aww, poor Sora!"

"You should've stayed at home to rest!"

"Poor thing... You look terrible!"

Naminé rolls his eyes.

Suddenly, he leans toward her, "Hiya Naminé!"

She glares sideways at him. "Disappear," she hisses quietly.

Nobody has heard her. He's completely used to this treatment by now so he says nothing back, just smiling innocently back at her.

"Good morning to you too!" He says sarcastically, and then he leans a bit closer, Naminé turns her head the other way to avoid looking at him.

"And," he adds in a whisper, "Thanks again for the flowers." He leans back with a mischievous grin.

Naminé bursts inside, so she hisses at him a bit too loudly, "Do you know what they mean?"

_Silence._

Everyone turns to stare at her. She blushes and looks down at her sketchbook immediately, pretending to draw.

"Did you hear her?"

"She was talking to Sora!"

"It's the first time I heard her voice!"

"I dyed my hair blonde today! Tee-hee!"

She blushes profusely, and looks sideways carefully at Sora, who's beaming victoriously with an _'I-made-you-speak!'_ look. She frowns in annoyance, hiding behind her sketchbook.

"Yeah I found out," she hears Sora say. "Not very friendly, but then again, that's expected of you isn't it? It's your way of showing affection," he teases, but this time talking out loud instead of whispering. Everyone is quiet again, listening to them intently.

Naminé cowers though and doesn't reply, completely ignoring him. The class turns back to mind their own business soon enough, losing interest when no further developments occur.

_Then_ she quickly whispers at Sora, "As if! You're the _least_ person I like in this school, _goofball_!" She says it all very quickly before turning her head swiftly to the other direction and acting as if nothing has happened.

Sora stares at her, mouth agape, but refuses to give up. He _will_ expose her. Just as he is about to open his mouth, the teacher comes in. He closes it, sighs, and then gives Naminé an "Until Next time" look. She smiles sweetly at him in return.

The rest of the class goes on normally. Sora is in a very good mood, though. He's thrilled because he is so close to finally exposing her. And... Just being next to her makes him happy. He doesn't have to worry about losing her company now. That's still in the future. He should just enjoy the present they have now.

XXX


	8. Selphie, Yuffie and The Prick

CHAPTER 8

It is the after school lessons.

Sora is obviously very excited to be there. Just him and Naminé. Nobody else is coming. Because, of course, nobody else cares about their grades. Olette isn't here anymore, since she's moved out and transferred to another school, so it's just Naminé doing the tutoring.

Naminé enters the class to find her worst fears have come true. It's just Sora, sitting on one of the front seats with a stupid grin on his face. She sighs.

"Class is over," she says immediately, turning to leave.

"Whoa, wait!" Sora rushes over to her and catches her arm. "I need to be tutored! It's your job isn't it?"

Naminé bites the insides of her cheeks hard, irritated over Sora's persistence. But gives in anyway and prepares for the lesson. It's her responsibility after all.

XXX

It is extremely awkward between them. They're alone, sitting close next to each other, with Naminé occasionally leaning TOO close for Sora's comfort to explain or point out something in the book.

Sora swears that he has lost the ability to breathe. She's too close, TOO close. And what bugs him is that she's not even aware of anything. Why does HE have to be the one who's aware of it? It's unfair!

"Sora, are you listening?" Naminé asks in an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, yeah! I'm listening!" Sora hurriedly assures her.

"Okay then, let's try this problem..." She turns back to look at the book, unaware that Sora's eyes are somewhere else.

For some reason, he can't stop looking at her face, at how blue and cutely shaped her eyes are, at her small pink lips...

"_WHOA... Hold it Sora, rewind, you're turning into a pervert!" _Sora mentally panics.

"Sora!" Namine yells suddenly, causing Sora to jump.

"Y-Yeah Dad? I-I mean Naminé!" He hurriedly corrects himself, mentally cursing himself for being an idiot.

"If you're not going to concentrate then we can just end-"

"YEAH!" He jumps up from his seat abruptly, scaring Naminé, "L-Let's end it!"

Naminé blinks at him suspiciously, "Are you sure?"

"Y-Yeah! C-Come on, let's go!" He hurries outside, leaving a bewildered Naminé behind.

XXX

Naminé is surprised to find that Sora is waiting for her just outside the school building. Nobody else is around, it is already late and everybody's gone home already.

"Hiya!" Sora salutes cheerfully with an idiotic grin.

Naminé returns his grin with a smile, but says nothing.

Sora is overjoyed that she's actually smiled back at him, so he doesn't mind the silence.

They walk side by side when Naminé notices her father's car near the sidewalk. Her dad, Cloud, spots her, and waves at her with a small smile.

Naminé waves back, then turns to Sora, "Are you coming to say Hi?"

The friendliness in Naminé's tone makes Sora both surprised and nervous, he blushes a bit, but Naminé doesn't notice it. "Er..." He looks back at her dad from the distance, his cold blue eyes are analyzing him and looking through the very core of his soul even from this distance. He gulps nervously. "Ehehe... I think it's safer to just wave from the distance!"

Namine shrugs, "OK, bye bye!" She hurries toward her father's car.

Sora watches her go with a warm smile. There's definitely some improvement. She doesn't frown when she looks at him anymore, that's for one.

As soon as Naminé makes it to her dad, Cloud, he tells her, "Next time, tell Sora to come greet me in person."

Namine hides a growing smile, "He'd love that."

XXX

As soon as Naminé's car drives off, Selphie attacks Sora from behind, startling him.

"S-Selphie!"

"SORA! WE NEED TO TALK!"

He blinks, surprised. "Er... About what?"

She looks really hyped up and serious, "Sora, you're Riku's bestest friend, aren't you?"

"Er... Yeah..."

"And you know how much I love Riku, don't you?"

"Er... I do..."

"PLEASE HELP ME!"

"Er... How?"

"YOU'RE HIS BEST FRIEND! TALK TO HIM! GET ME SOME INFO ABOUT HIM OR SOMETHING, PUT ON A GOOD WORD FOR ME! ANYTHING! SORA PLEASE, I BEG YOU! I REALLY REALLY LOVE HIM!"

"Okaay... I'll try!" Sora replies carefully, readying himself for a bear hug or an attack of some sort.

"REALLY? THANK YOU SO MUCH SORA!" She attacks him with a bear hug. Yep, he knew it. "I LOVE YOU!"

"Er... Me too..." He tries to break free; he feels that he'll suffocate to death. "Now, can you please... let me go?"

"Oops! Sorry!" Selphie lets go instantly, blushing. "So you'll do it? PROMISE?"

"I said I'll try..." Sora grins at her enthusiasm.

"I SERIOUSLY LOVE YOU SOR-SOR! KYAAH!" She attacks him with another bear hug.

"_Sor-Sor?__"_Sora sweat-drops.

"Can you, let go... again... please?" He manages to choke out.

"Oh! Sorry!" She giggles guiltily before letting go. "Don't forget okay? I'm counting on you!"

Sora nods to assure her, "I won't. Just... don't attack me again please!"

She sticks out her tongue playfully, before turning away to leave. "Alright, see ya Sor-Sor!" She waves goodbye at him before skipping off.

"Er... See ya." Sora waves back awkwardly.

XXX

The gang; Sora, Kairi and Riku are hanging together at a restaurant. They've just had dinner. Now they're discussing dating.

Kairi is desperate for a boyfriend. She looks miserable as she plays around with her food, sighing, "Everybody is finding someone but me..."

Riku looks up from his cell phone to look at her teasingly, "How about Sora?" He knows the reaction he's expecting...

Both Sora and Kairi almost choke on their food, "N-NO WAY!" They yell at the same time. Then they turn to glare at each other while yelling again at the same time, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?"

Riku snickers to himself before getting back to check his cell phone.

At this precise moment, Sora remembers his promise to Selphie and turns to Riku, "Uhm... Riku?"

"Mhm?" He distractedly replies, still checking on his cell phone.

"What do you think about dating Selphie?"

"Go for it," is Riku's immediate dull response.

"Er, no, I meant _you_. What do _you_ think about dating Selphie?"

"Who?"

"Selphie," Sora patiently repeats.

"What about her?" He's still busy with that cell phone of his, irritating Sora, who takes a deep breath to calm himself.

"What are the chances of you dating her?" He finally asks again.

"Nonexistent," Riku replies bluntly.

Sora almost falls out of his chair comically. _"__Okay, this will take a while...__"_ He thinks, sweat-dropping.

"Uhm... Well, I think she's a very cute girl," Sora tries again.

"Why don't you date her then?" is Riku's cold reply.

Sora pouts, irritated. _"__One more try!__"_

"Er... She really likes you..."

"Unfortunately," Riku replies with a tired sigh.

Sora finally gives up, thinking it's hopeless. _"__Poor Selphie…__"_

"Hey," Sora suddenly notices Yuffie's not there. "Where's Yuffie?"

"She's got a date today!" Kairi tells him with a sigh, "See, everybody has some romance in their life but the cupid princess!"

Sora sweat-drops at her last statement, but then gets back to the main topic, "Wow, I didn't know..."

"That's because you're always spacing out!" Kairi scolds him.

Suddenly, Riku gets up to leave. Kairi and Sora turn to Riku immediately. "Where are you going?" They ask him together, and then glare at each other.

"Home," Riku replies quickly.

"Okay. But don't forget to pay the bill before you go!" Sora reminds him.

"And can you lend me some money please? There's these SUPER cute heels I saw at the mall earlier, I really want them, but I don't have enough money… Tee-hee!" Kairi puts on an innocent puppy face.

Riku rolls his eyes, "Why do I have to pay everything for you guys? Sorry, but not today!" He leaves in a rush.

"Noooo! Riku! Come baaack!" They wail after him.

"We're broke!"

"Totally broke!"

Riku exits the restaurant without a word or a glance.

Kairi and Sora look back at each other, troubled.

"Shit. Now what do we do?" Kairi curses. She looks at Sora expectantly.

He panics, "Don't look at me! I forgot to even bring my wallet!"

"We're doooomed!" Kairi bangs her head on the table.

"Why? You can always buy those heels next month, when you get your allowance…" Sora replies calmly.

"It's not about the heels IDIOT! WHO'S GOING TO PAY FOR THE BILL?" Kairi snaps at him angrily.

Silence. Then –

"Oh. OH! NOO! RIKU COME BAACK!" Sora cries dramatically.

Kairi shakes her head at her best friend's stupidity, "Late reaction!" Then she notices the waitress coming their way. "Shit, she's coming!" Kairi hisses, and then pretends to play with her hair.

"Are you finished? Do you want to pay the bill now?" The waitress asks politely.

Sora opens his mouth to say something, but then Kairi nudges him. HARD. He stays silent.

"Er... As a matter of fact..." Kairi takes the menu, "We would like to um, order one more chocolate cake please!"

"Right away!" The waitress takes back the menu and leaves cheerfully.

Sora turns to Kairi, "And you call ME an idiot! Why did you order more?"

"Sorry! I just... panicked alright! It'd be TOO embarrassing if we told her the truth. I don't want to create a scene okay?"

Sora bangs his head on the table this time.

"It's all Riku's fault! He ALWAYS pays the bill, why did he just suddenly abandon us?" Kairi complains.

"And since when Riku goes home so early?" Sora adds.

They look at each other skeptically. "Something's fishy..." They tell each other silently.

A bit later, the waitress arrives with the cake, "Here you go! Enjoy!" She puts it on the table and leaves.

Kairi and Sora eye it for the longest minute. Eventually, Kairi pushes it toward Sora, "Eat it. Y-You love this thing!"

"B-but I'm full..." Sora whines.

"EAT IT OR YOU'LL EMBARRASS US IN FRONT OF THESE PEOPLE!" Kairi demands, glaring at him furiously.

Sora shrinks like a puppy, "Fine, fine!" Pouting, he reluctantly starts eating the cake…

XXX

Meanwhile, Riku's walking by the sidewalk, talking on his cell phone like usual.

"Solana, are you sure it's Axel? … I see. Where are they again? McDonald's? Heh. Who'd take a girl to McDonald's on their first date? What a loser. Yeah, yeah...I'm on my way. Why do I care? ...No, I don't like her. I'm just curious... Don't worry, Sol. Alright, I just got there. I'm hanging up okay? ...Bye."

He stuffs his cell phone inside his pocket and enters the restaurant.

"Good evening sir!" The lady that stands by the door to greet customers says in her usual irritating tone. Riku ignores her, scanning the restaurant for his targets. Immediately, he finds Yuffie and Axel laughing together at one of the tables. Quickly, he takes the table a bit farther from them.

Yuffie appears to be having fun; laughing so hard every once and a while. She only laughs this hard when she succeeds with her plans in making him, Riku, suffer. To find her laughing like that in front of another guy irritates him. Does he like her? Maybe... At least he won't be an idiot like Sora and deny it.

He can only see Axel's back, but it seems that he's enjoying their date too.

Riku keeps watching them carefully, when all of a sudden; the lady who's greeting people by the door earlier blocks his vision, her creepy smiling face is way too close to his. He's almost – ALMOST – lost his cool and yelped.

"Wh-What do you want?" He snaps at her, irritated.

She keeps smiling creepily at him, "Would you like to order something, handsome?"

Is this old hag hitting on him? And since when does McDonald's have table service? Anyway, he better order something to not stand out and get exposed.

"One Big Mac."

"Right away, Handsome-face!" She – finally – skips off and leaves him alone.

Riku's attention turns back to the couple not far in front of him. Yuffie's missing, though. Only Axel's at their table now.

Riku looks around, searching for her. He finally finds her ordering at the cashier. He quickly hides his face by hang his head low. Lucky for him, Yuffie's oblivious to his existence.

For once, Riku notices, she's wearing a dress. A cute knee-length yellow dress that looks like Selphie's. She must've borrowed it from her or something. There's no way that the tomboyish Yuffie he knows keeps a dress in her wardrobe.

Subconsciously, he begins to smile. It really looks cute on her. She must really like Axel to wear a dress. _That_ turns his smile upside down. He can feel it. The tightness in his chest. He is clearly feeling jealous at the moment. Why Axel? He looks like Ronald McDonald for God's sake! Yuffie has bad taste when it comes to guys. How can she despise _himself_? The heartthrob of the entire school?

Earlier, he's thought that it was just her way of showing affection. You know, the elementary kind of crush? Where you pick on someone you like? But if she likes Axel, that doesn't seem to be the case. Maybe she really does hate him...

All of a sudden, the lady with the creepy smile is back with Riku's order. "Here you go, Handsome-face!" She puts the tray on his table, winking.

Riku feels like puking, really. She looks like she's at least in her thirties. Pedophile.

"Thanks," He tells her sternly, waving a hand to shoo her.

After she leaves, Riku looks down at his food. He doesn't feel like eating. He's already eaten with Sora and Kairi. Looking up, he notices Yuffie pass by him again to reach hers and Axel's table; he quickly ducks down his head before she can detect him.

_Safe._

Ironically, Yuffie, before, used to like him. Back in elementary school, he was also the heartthrob of the school. It was a bit before he met Sora; he was a delinquent, always skipped school, got himself into trouble, used to smoke... His parents got divorced and didn't care less what he does. It was sort of his revenge, his attempt to get their attention.

Then he met Sora and Kairi and something inside him began to change. Their innocence and good nature kind of rubbed off on him. They were always such goofballs. Too nice for their own good. Riku thought that they need him to watch over them, sort of like their protector. But sometimes he feels like a parent too.

And then there's Yuffie; one of his classmates. He vaguely remembers that she's confessed to him. She used to be one of their team's cheerleaders and harbored feelings for him that he's been oblivious to. He coldheartedly turned her down. He was a big ass back then, he admits that much. Since that day, he became her number one enemy.

Suddenly, he is snapped out of his thoughts when he notices Yuffie approaching his table.

"_Shit! Did she spot me?__"_He curses mentally, quickly looking at the other side so she won't see his face.

"Um... Excuse me! The creepy lady said that our burgers got switched..." He hears her say in her usual upbeat voice.

Riku is glad that Yuffie shares his opinion about the creepy lady. They've even given her the same nickname! That must mean something right? Anyway, he doesn't have time for this. There's no escaping her this time. He should just turn around and face what's coming to him. That'll ruin her date for sure. Good. Yes, he's being evil, but hey, she's always evil to him too! This can be considered as pay back. Yes, that's what it is.

Slowly, he turns around to face her. He can practically picture her reaction. And it happens just as he's pictured it too...

Her eyes go wide in shock as she steps back dramatically, pointing a shaking finger at him, "P-P-PRICK! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

He can't contain the smug smirk stretching on his face. Her reaction is priceless.

"WHOA! Wait... WERE YOU SPYING ON ME?"

His smirk disappears instantly. He sure as hell can't admit that he is spying on her, that'll hurt his pride severely. He'll be the laughing stock of the entire school. Since when does Riku Yoshida spy on another girl's date?

As calmly as possible, he replies, "No, I'm not."

She narrows her eyes at him carefully, "Then what ARE you doing? ALONE?"

Good question. What IS he doing in the first place? That was such a stupid move from him. Only an idiot like Sora would do this.

"I'm..."

"_Yes, keep it cool Riku...__"_

Yuffie's glaring at him intensely, trying to see through him or something.

Coolly, Riku answers, "Isn't it obvious? I'm on a date." He lies.

"Oh really?" Yuffie raises an eyebrow in disbelief, "Where's your date?"

Riku stares at her blankly, trying to think of a way out of this.

"She's in the bathroom," he finally says, the smirk back on his face.

"Aha... Well, when she gets back, I'll come to say hello!" She says with a mischievous smile. "I'll be watching!" She adds before skipping back toward their table.

"God, that was close..." Riku mutters to himself, sighing.

Looking up again at the direction of Yuffie's table, he finds her waving at him, a fake smile on her face, clearly waiting for his 'date'.

Riku feels like banging his head against a wall.

"_Now, what to do?__"_

XXX

Sora and Kairi finally manage to leave the restaurant. It has been a LONG struggle. Poor Sora has had to eat _a lot_ of stuff before someone they know from school came along and saved them for the embarrassment.

They're walking by the sidewalk. Occasionally, Sora's complaining about being too full. He feels like he's going to burst at any minute.

"Oh, shut up. Complain to Riku, not me! He's the cause of the problem!" Kairi says darkly.

Sora stops all of a sudden, causing Kairi to halt and turn around to see what's wrong.

Sora appears to be deeply thinking. For once.

"What is it?" Kairi asks curiously.

He hesitantly begins, "Er... Kairi."

"Yes?"

"Kairi."

"Mhm?"

"Kairi... do..." He pauses suddenly.

"Okay, you said my name one hundred times already! Out with it!"

He looks up at her, a grim look on his face. He looks too serious.

Kairi panics inside, _"__Oh my God, is he going to confess__ to me or something__?__!__ WHAT SHOULD I SAY?__"_

"Kairi. What do you do..."

Kairi watches him with wary eyes, gulping nervously.

"...When you feel like kissing a girl?"

She freezes, a dumbfounded look on her face.

"Excuse me?" She manages to choke out.

Seriously, Sora continues, "Don't you ever feel like kissing a girl?"

"W-WHAT?"

"You never had the urge?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" Kairi yells, blushing. "I LIKE GUYS!"

Sora stops, a confused look on his face, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kairi hits him on the head like usual, "ARGHHH! YOU'RE SUCH AN IDIOT! JUST GET TO THE POINT! YOU FELT LIKE KISSING NAMINE DIDN'T YOU?"

He blushes deeply, turning around to glance at the by-passers eying them in embarrassment. "N-No! I-I'm just asking... out of curiosity!"

She rolls her eyes before sighing, "Anyway, to answer your question, if I ever felt like kissing a GUY... that means that I might have feelings for him."

"How do you know for sure?"

"Well... I'd try to give the guy a chance and see if it's true."

"How?"

"Umm... I'll go on a date with him!"

"A... Date?"

"Yeah! To figure out my feelings!"

Sora nods to himself, thinking deeply, "I see..."

Kairi shakes her head before turning around again, "Honestly Sora, you're such a-" She stops, noticing Riku sitting on a table by the window inside McDonald's.

"What?" Sora asks curiously, turning his head to see what she's looking at.

"Oh! THAT'S RIKU! LET'S GET HIM!" He hurries to his direction; Kairi stops him by grabbing the back of collar and yanks him back.

"WAIT! Let me experiment something first!"

She pulls out his cell phone and dials Riku's number. They watch Riku take out his cell phone.

"Hey Riku!" She says cheerfully as soon as he picks up.

"Hey. What do you want?"

"Oh, I'm just wondering where you are."

"I'm at home, where else?"

"Reeally?"

"Yeah..." Riku says a bit suspiciously, "Why?"

"Oh, nothing! Just asking! Bye bye!" She hangs up. Then turns to Sora, both of them have these angry, revenge-seeking expressions on their faces.

"A traitor and a LIAR!" Kairi exclaims angrily.

Sora nods viciously, "Let's get him!"

She nods in agreement and then they bust into the restaurant together.

The creepy lady by the door sweat-drops. "G-Good evening, welcome to-"

"Save it lady!" Kairi raises a hand to shut her up.

They quickly march toward Riku's table and sit on the seats in front of him. His eyes widen in shock. They smirk back evilly.

"Hooome, are we?" Kairi and Sora drawl out together teasingly.

He tries to hide the humiliated smile growing on his face, "I was hungry on my way back and decided to grab a bite."

He's a good liar, that's for sure.

"Oh really? Didn't you eat with us earlier at that restaurant, and then deserted us to pay for the bill even though we were absolutely BROKE? We kept ordering and ordering like some pigs!"

"YEAH! She made me eat every dish in the freakin' menu!" Sora whines in agony.

"Idiots. Why didn't you just simply tell them that you're out of cash?"

"AND GET HUMILIATED IN FRONT OF THE PEOPLE? NO WAY!" Kairi retorts.

"How did you get out of this then?" Riku calmly tries to divert them of the main topic, they're too stupid to even realize.

"Luckily, we saw Demyx there!" Kairi tells him.

"Yeah, and we convinced him to pay for our bill!" Sora adds.

"_Poor guy...__" _Riku thinks.

"He didn't want to at first, but Kairi kept persuading him and he eventually did! What a hero!" Sora nods in admiration.

"We made the poor guy pay with all his allowance's money because of YOU!" Kairi bellows at Riku, pointing at him accusingly.

Suddenly, Sora grabs his stomach, and covers his mouth. "G-Guys, I-I think I'm going to puke!"

Kairi and Riku make a disgusted face. "H-Hurry to the bathroom then!" Kairi quickly waves him off.

He doesn't need to be told twice, he rushes there in zipping speed, leaving Kairi and Riku alone.

"Poor guy. Did you have to make him eat the entire menu?" Riku scolds Kairi.

"Hey, I'm on a diet!" She tries to justify herself. "And besides, 'the entire menu' thing is an exaggeration! You know Sora!"

Riku shakes his head, but then his eyes go wide when he notices Yuffie marching toward them.

"_Oh shit, totally forgot about her!__"_ He curses mentally.

"So! Is that your date?" She says as soon as she makes it there.

"Date...?" Kairi raises an eyebrow.

Riku feels like punching himself.

"OH MY GOD! KAIRI? YOUR DATE IS KAIRI!" Yuffie exclaims a bit too loudly.

Kairi's widen in shock as well, "OH MY GOD! YUFFIE? RIKU, IS THAT WHY YOU'RE HERE? YOU'RE STALKING YUFFIE!"

Riku has lost the power to speak at the moment. He looks around to see people eying them strangely.

"A two-timer..." He hears someone nearby mutter, shaking their head.

This is certainly not his lucky day... How is he going to get himself out of this one?

Suddenly, the creepy lady comes back at the most awkward moment. "Hey handsome, want anything else?" She asks sweetly, completely unaware of the dilemma that's happening.

"WHO'S _SHE_?" Yuffie and Kairi yell at the same time while pointing at the intruder.

XXX


	9. Bursting the Bubble

Chapter 9

"WHO'S _SHE_?"

Riku is speechless. He keeps staring blankly at them, trying to come up with something to say, but failing at it.

Meanwhile, the creepy lady looks around to see an angry Kairi and Yuffie glaring at her with murder intent in their eyes. She gulps nervously before retreating, "E-Enjoy your food!"

Kairi and Yuffie keep glaring at her until she's out of sight, and then turn to Riku.

He takes a deep breath before speaking, "Look, Kairi's not my date, and I'm not spying on Yuffie's date okay? I just... Happened to be here, at the same time and place. Pure coincidence."

The two girls narrow their eyes at him doubtfully, "Really?"

"Really."

Yuffie huffs, folding her arms. "Then who IS your date huh?"

"Solana. I just got a call from her earlier; she said she couldn't make it," Riku mentally congratulates himself for being a good liar. _"Gotta remember to call Solana and tell her about this. Knowing Yuffie and Kairi, they'll definitely try to talk to her."_

"Hey! Didn't you say you come here to grab something to eat before going home?" Kairi says, glaring at him suspiciously.

Riku curses them for being smart in his head, then, as calmly as possible, he explains, "Yeah. We... planned to rent a movie and watch it together in my house, then she suggested that we buy from McDonald's and go there together."

Yuffie and Kairi appear to relax, and their glares soften a bit.

"_They're actually believing it. Wow."_ Riku thinks in awe at the extent of his friends' stupidity. "And that's the full story. Happy now?" He concludes with a smug smirk.

Yuffie is still frowning though. "Whatever! My date's officially ruined because of your presence! UGH, I HATE YOU PRICK!" She turns around swiftly, stomping off toward hers and Axel's table.

Riku sweat-drops, then notices that Axel has been watching the entire time, and he has this annoying devilish smirk directed at him; it's like he knows that Riku has lied somehow. Riku ignores him though and looks away, completely humiliated.

Kairi sits back down and glares at Riku. "Stalker."

Riku glares back at her.

"Admit it; you were stalking her weren't you?" Kairi asks teasingly.

"No," Riku replies quickly, unable to look her in the eyes.

"Liar."

"Whatever."

"Stalker."

He turns to her impatiently. "Shut up, okay?"

She sticks her tongue out at him playfully.

Riku rolls his eyes. "Very mature!"

"At least I don't stalk people on their date."

He shakes his head, not wanting to get into an argument with her. "Say whatever you want."

"You know, Riku, you're so funny! You have hundred of girls after you, but you choose the one that hates your guts. Isn't that ironic?"

Riku snaps, pounding the table with his fist. "CAN YOU SHUT UP FOR ONE GODDAMN SECOND?"

Kairi laughs delightedly, finally, she's accomplished her purpose and made him lose his cool. "Don't tell me you had this 'illusion' that Yuffie is pretending to hate you because she actually likes you!"

Riku says nothing, but he is trying hard to keep his cool.

"Oh, Riku! You're hilarious!" Kairi clutches her stomach from laughing so hard.

Riku feels so very humiliated at the moment, today is most definitely not his lucky day.

"You thought I wouldn't figure it out? Honey, you're so easy for me to read!" She keeps nudging him playing on the arm, smiling from ear to ear. Riku sends her a death glare.

"I just didn't want to embarrass you in front of Yuffie and her date! I know how much you care for your pride!" She hits his arm playfully again. Riku looks like he will snap again at any second.

Sora staggers back to their table at this moment, groaning, "I don't feel so good... It's all your fault Riku!" He points at him accusingly.

Riku snaps at him instead. "SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Sora shrinks, startled. "Er, what's wrong with him?" He asks Kairi quietly.

Shrugging innocently, she says, "Beats me."

XXX

Next day, during lunch break, Sora's up on the roof with Naminé like usual.

He holds up his sketchbook in front of Naminé's face. "How's this?"

She studies his drawing carefully for a long while, trying to contain herself from laughing. "W-Well... There's an improvement."

Sora stares at her playfully. "You can laugh if you want!"

She looks down, smiling guiltily. "I'm sorry..."

He grins back mysteriously. "It's OK! I did it on purpose."

Naminé eyes him curiously. "Huh?"

Flipping to a new page, he says a bit shyly, "I just wanted to make you laugh!" He starts drawing again without looking up. "I'll draw seriously this time though, promise!" He says with a hint of a smile in his voice.

Naminé smiles softly, shaking her head a bit before turning back to her own drawing.

All of a sudden, Selphie springs out of the stairs, she looks around frantically, searching for someone, when she spots her target, Sora, she leaps forward. "SORA!"

A startled Sora looks up to find Selphie only a millimeter away from his face. He shrieks, leaning back a bit to put a space between them.

"Oh, and hi Naminé!" Selphie tilts her head to greet Naminé, a bit softer than before. Naminé stares at her, wide eyed, just as startled as Sora.

Quickly, Selphie turns her attention back to the spiky-head. "SORA! DID YOU TALK TO RIKU?"

Sora swallows hard. "Er... Y-Yeah...?"

"WHAT DID HE SAY?"

"Er..."

She keeps staring at him with clear anticipation.

Sora bites his lower lip; he really doesn't want to hurt her feelings. Riku's answers weren't exactly nice...

He scratches the back of his head nervously. "Uhh, Selphie? Why Riku? He won't give up his playboy ways if that's what you're hoping."

Selphie shakes her head vehemently. "I don't care! I love him! Since day one!"

Sora sighs. "But... He..." He looks at her eager and hopeful eyes, pained. "Doesn't seem to... like you very much," he finishes guiltily.

Selphie is of course, crushed, almost on the verge of tears. Sora stares at her expression sympathetically.

"W-Why? What did he say?" She manages to choke out.

Sora sighs again. He doesn't want to tell her. He doesn't have the heart to. "He said... Erm... H-He can't date someone he barely knows," Sora, obviously, lies.

Selphie sighs deeply, relieved. "THAT'S IT? Phew... I thought he said something like our chances of dating are inexistent!"

Sora forces out a laugh. "Wh-What makes you think that? Riku can be mean, but not THAT mean!"

Selphie laughs along. "I know! He is so nice and considerate! He wouldn't want to hurt me!"

Sora keeps nodding, unable to look her in the eye. Naminé, all the while, is busy drawing silently in the background, but she's actually all ears to their conversation.

"SORA!" Selphie screams again all of a sudden.

Sora panics. "Y-Yeah?"

"YOU HAVE TO SET ME UP ON A DATE WITH RIKU!"

"Wh-What?"

She produces a puppy face. "PLEEEASE!"

Sora looks around, unsure. "I don't know..."

Selphie's shoulders slump miserably, but then, she looks up suddenly. "You're right!"

"H-Huh?"

"I SHOULD ASK HIM OUT MYSELF!"

"Not a very good idea..." Sora mumbles to himself quietly, sweat-dropping.

"I'm sure Riku would accept! He DID hint out that he wants to get to know me better!" Selphie squeals to herself like a love-struck fangirl.

"Er..."

"Thanks, Sora!" She quickly turns around to leave but Sora grabs her arm just in time. "WAIT!"

She looks back at him with a curious expression. "What is it?"

"I-I don't think it's a good idea..."

"Why? Do you think he will reject me?" She looks at him worriedly. She looks like she's about to cry again.

"N-No, but if his fangirls see you asking him out, you'll be dead!"

Selphie nods forcefully. "You're right! Maybe I should have someone else ask him out for me!"

Sora feels like jumping off the roof! Why is she so persistent? "Er... I think it's better I do it myself!"

Selphie covers her mouth with both hands dramatically, tears in her eyes. "OH MY GOSH! You'll do it for me? Thanks SO much Sor-Sor!"

Sora prepares to be attacked with a bear hug like usual; but instead, she leans in and pecks him on the cheek quickly.

Naminé looks up briefly from her sketchbook to blink at them, surprised.

Sora rubs his cheeks where Selphie has kissed him, embarrassed. "Er... No problem."

"Bye Sor-Sor!" She waves her hand goodbye at him cutely before skipping off, totally forgetting about Naminé's presence.

"Is she your friend?" Naminé asks nonchalantly after she's gone.

Sora looks back at Naminé, smiling awkwardly, "Not exactly... I barely know her."

"Really? But you're like, everybody's friend in this school."

Sora laughs sheepishly before getting back to his drawing.

XXX

It's the after school lessons.

Sora is the only one there like usual. But in truth, he hasn't wanted to come at first. He doesn't want another awkward scenario like before to happen. But if he doesn't come, then Naminé will have an empty class... So here he is, dozing off on his desk…

Naminé comes in and spots him napping. She sighs; shaking her head, then violently slams her books on the desk next to him.

He yelps up, jumping up. "I'M AWAKE DAD!"

Naminé laughs at his reaction. She's always loved it when the teachers do that to him when he naps during their classes. It's so funny.

He glares at her, pouting, then his pout turns into a sneaky grin. Naminé blinks at him, wary. Without warning, he leaps at her; she tries to shield herself from him with the books she's carrying, but it's no use, he starts tickling so hard that tears are coming out of her eyes, and laughing is beginning to hurt.

"S-Stop! S...STOP! … PLEASE!" She manages to choke out while laughing uncontrollably. "S-SORAAAA!"

Sora laughs heartily, tickling her even more. "SAY YOU'RE SORRY!"

She can't even open her mouth to speak; it's becoming harder to breathe. Luckily for her, Tifa enters the classroom.

Sora lets go of Naminé completely, embarrassed. The two blush and look the other way, as if they have been caught doing something naughty.

Tifa giggles at their childishness, then coughs for their attention. "Sora, can you walk Naminé home today please?"

Both of them look up at her, surprised, especially Naminé. "Wh-Why? Where's my dad?"

"Cloud won't be able to drive you home today," Tifa explains carefully. "He's... Busy."

"Then what about you?" Namine asks immediately.

Sora turns his head to pout at Naminé, clearly unhappy that she isn't eager to go with him.

Tifa looks down nervously, then says, stuttering. "I-I can't too..."

"Why?" Naminé persists.

Tifa blushes. "I-I'm... I'm going on a date!"

Sora and Naminé blink, surprised. Tifa's starting to play with her hair. A sign that means she's nervous. Slowly, Naminé begins to smile.

Sora is slow to catch on, though. "With who?" He asks dumbly.

Tifa takes a deep breath. "Cl-Cloud."

Namine grins from ear to ear, almost jumping up and down excitedly at the news. Sora just stands there, frozen and gaping openly at Tifa.

Tifa looks up shyly. "I-I hope you don't mind, Naminé. We're sorry for not telling you earlier..."

Namine shakes her head quickly. "I don't mind at all!"

Sora finally regains the power to speak. "Whoa! You mean Cloud, Naminé's dad? W-Wow!"

Tifa blushes timidly down at her feet.

"What do you like about him? He's like an emotionless rock... Even a rock has more emotions!" Sora sweat-drops.

Naminé puts her hands on her hips and glares at him angrily.

Sora rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm just a tad bit jealous!"

They laugh out loud.

Sora smiles sincerely at Tifa. "But I am happy for you Teef!"

"It's Mrs. Tifa for you, kid!" She scolds him playfully, then, turning her head, she looks at Naminé expectantly.

Namine smiles. "Me too!"

Tifa sighs with relief. "G-Great, I...I'm so glad!" She is so happy that she's have trouble breathing. Naminé and Sora note this and smile wider. Grinning, Tifa adds giddily, "I-I better get ready then! Bye, kids!" She leaves, almost skipping.

It's funny when adults act like kids sometimes.

Sora turns to Naminé. "Hey I've been wondering... How is Tifa related to your family? Did she know your... um, mom?"

Namine nods. "Mhm. They were best friends. My father and Tifa were friends long before they met my mom though."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"I wonder why they didn't get together then..."

"Don't tell Tifa, but, I found her diary once, and it appears that she had a crush on my father for years!"

"Naughty, naughty Naminé!" Sora shakes his finger at her face playfully. "You read her _diary_?"

Namine sticks out her tongue guiltily. "But, she never told him about her feelings... So then my father met my mom and fell in love with her instead."

Sora expression turns sympathetic. "Tifa must've been so heartbroken..."

"Yeah, but she supported them anyway."

Crossing his arms behind his head, he says, "I guess that was for the best..."

"Tifa's heartbroken was for the best?" Naminé asks in disbelief.

"No, no, I didn't mean that... I'm just saying that, if your dad didn't marry your mom, you wouldn't have been born!"

Namine nods slowly. "Oh... You're right."

A moment of silence passes when Sora finally speaks again, "Hey, are you really okay with your dad dating Tifa? Or were you just saying that to make them happy?" He scans her face worriedly.

Calmly, Naminé shakes her head. "No, I AM happy for them! You know, I've been trying to hook them up for MONTHS!"

Sora starts laughing incredulously. "Y-You?"

Namine pouts. "Yeah! What's so funny about that?"

He tries to stop himself from laughing. "N-Nothing! It's just that... it's the first time you're acting like human being in front of me!"

"Hey!" She hits Sora's arm lightly, causing him to laugh harder.

When Sora finally stops laughing, she asks curiously, "What about your parents? I never met them, not even when I went to your house when you were sick..."

He raises an eyebrow. "Why do you want to meet them?"

She shrugs a bit. "I'm just curious... about what sort of parents... you have."

"In other words, you want to meet the parents who raised a clown like me!" He says sarcastically.

She giggles. "Something like that."

He glares at her, pouting childishly. "Meanie."

"How's your dad like?" Naminé asks suddenly.

She isn't aware of it, but Sora's completely ecstatic about this conversation. Naminé's acting so natural, so herself. It's perfect.

He puts on an awkward smile. "Let's just say that, if my dad met your dad, it'll be like the meeting of two evils!"

She chuckles again. "You don't like my father?"

Sora shakes his head quickly. "No, it's not that. I like him. It's him. He's the one who doesn't like me!" He ends with a scowl.

"Unrequited love huh?" Naminé jokes.

"Yea- HEEEY!" Sora catches himself, staring at her laughing figure accusingly. He makes a disgusted face as she keeps laughing. "The mental images!"

"I know!" She clutches her stomach. She doesn't remember when has been the last time she's laughed this hard. Finally, when she's in control again, she asks, "Wh-What about... Your mom? She must be cute."

"Yeah, she is," a smirk is starting to appear, "What makes you think so though?"

She shrugs. "You're her son aren't you?"

His smirk stretches; at last, she's said it! "Naminé Strife... Are you hinting that you think I'm cute?" He grins widely, a mischievous glint in his stare.

"Huh?" Naminé panics, playing with her hair; a habit she must have picked up from Tifa, Sora concludes. "I'm not! I didn't say it!"

"But you were hinting it!"

She looks away, blushing with embarrassment. "Was not!"

He laughs at her reaction. "Sure, sure..." Then sits back on his seat, and takes out his Math book. "Are we going to begin the lessons or not?" He asks teasingly.

She watches him silently, then –

"Sora..."

"Hm?"

"I'm going to ask you a question. And I want you to answer me honestly."

Sora looks up slowly, starting to get nervous, "Er... Sure."

She looks really serious. Nervous. And a bit uncomfortable. Enough to make Sora inwardly panic.

"Sora... Do you..." She trails off.

"Do I...?" He urges her to continue, watching her expectantly.

She swallows hard, then, gathering her courage, she says it –

"...Like me?"

He almost drops his Math book and falls out of his chair. "Wh-What?"

"Do you like me?" She repeats; both of them are unable to make eye contact.

"Wh-Where did that come from?" He chuckles nervously while playing with his spikes.

"I-I'm just wondering... You always hang around with me, wherever I go, you're always there... I always wondered why you're doing this, I had a theory... I thought you just wanted to torture me or something, but I guess overtime, I began to think that's not possible, because you seem very nice... So when I thought about it again, that appeared to be the only explanation..."

She looks around nervously, playing with her hair again. "Um... I'm sorry if I'm thinking too much! It's impossible, right? We're just friends, so forget it!"

Sora is panicking; he can't even sit right anymore, but luckily for him, the bell rings, startling them both.

"T-Time to go! The coach will kill me if I miss practice!" He jumps off his seat and rushes out. "See ya around Naminé!"

"See ya..." She mutters to herself quietly.

He's already gone.

"That was so tense...!" She breathes out heavily, grabbing the desk to support herself.

"_Stupid! Nami, what were you thinking? You should have kept it to yourself! Now he'll think you're just another fangirl... Ugh... Me and my big mouth!"_

She looks at the door Sora just left from.

"_But... I think I got my answer... He doesn't like me. Why would he? I'm just a nobody... I think it's for the best anyway. We're better off just friends..."_

XXX

Sora is distracted during practice, of course.

The coach curses and yells at him. "SORA, FOCUS!"

"Sorry coach!" is Sora's guilty reply.

He can NOT focus, how can he focus? Even Naminé is thinking he likes her. Is that really the case? Is it more than just wanting to help her open up, more than trying to be her friend? He is too confused to think about anything. So confusing!

"GODDAMIT SORA! STOP SPACING OUT! WE GOT A BIG GAME COMING!" The coach yells again, veins propping out on his forehead.

The fangirls cheering for him look at each other confusedly, worried. As soon as Sora finishes practicing, they hand him his towel, and a cold bottle of water, some are even offering to give him a backrub.

"Sora, what are you thinking about?"

"..." He drinks his water silently.

"What's the problem? You can tell us! We'll help if we can!"

They'll murder the person he's thinking about if they know the problem. "Nothing... Never mind!" He waves his hand at them dismissively.

"Why can't you tell us?"

"It's a secret."

A random fangirl squeezes herself out of the mass of other fangirls to stand before Sora. "Sora are you coming to Sam's party tonight?"

Sam is one of his fangirls.

The others nod repeatedly like idiots. "Yeah, yeah, you should come! It'll cheer you up! You haven't gone to a party for so long!"

"I'll see if I can make it," He replies calmly. So calmly, that it's weird on him. Where did the upbeat cheerful Sora go to?

XXX

_Boys locker…_

"You okay Sor?" Riku asks, throwing his towel at his best friend to get his attention.

Sora scowls, catching the towel before it hit him. "Fine..." He replies absentmindedly.

"Sure? You know your performance says otherwise."

Tidus pops out his head from the locker near them. "You totally sucked today man!"

Wakka pops out after Tidus, then adds, "Something on your mind ya?"

"Yeah, there's something on my mind. But I can't tell you what!" Sora snaps at them. The three exchange a surprised look.

"No need man," Tidus smirks, then the three boys look at each other again and say at the same time, "Na-mi-ne!"

Sora hides a smile, then pretends to be mad, throwing his towel at them. "Shut up!" He says, a chuckle evident in his voice.

How many times has he heard Naminé's name? Other than the times when it keeps popping up in his head randomly?

XXX

After practice, everybody leaves; Sora's the last one to leave the gym but is surprised to find Naminé waiting for him at one of the benches.

He stumbles backwards, shocked. "N-Naminé! Were you waiting for me?"

She nods calmly.

"Sorry..." He apologizes, playing with his spikes timidly again.

She shakes her head. "It's okay. I was busy drawing and time went by before I knew it."

"What are you drawing?" He walks a bit toward her.

She smiles playfully. "Wanna see?"

"Sure."

She holds up her sketchbook. It's a picture of a chibi Sora playing basket ball with 'Sorry' written under it.

Sora grins happily. "Sorry for what? Ignoring me? Acting like I don't exist? Making me seem crazy? Being evil? Giving me flowers that represent hatred? What?"

She laughs guiltily, hiding her face.

"I can sort out a list you know!" He adds.

She pouts cutely. "I only did these things to push you away! I'm not really mean!"

"I know," Sora says, smiling; then he adds, "Hey, do you want me to walk you home directly or... hang around with me and the gang?" He asks the last bit expectantly.

"Riku and Kairi?"

"And Yuffie, yeah..."

She appears to be mulling it over. "Mmm... I don't know... Where are you going?"

"Star Bucks. Our usual hang out."

"Do they want me to come...?" Naminé asks worriedly.

"What are you talking about? Of course they'll want you to come. Kairi and Yuffie will be thrilled!" He assures her with a grin.

Namine smiles shyly. "Sure then."

He staggers back in disbelief. "YOU'RE GOING?"

She nods, putting her sketchbook back in her bag; preparing to leave with him.

"C-Cool!" Sora looks down bashfully, waiting for her to join him.

XXX

They make it outside the school, walking side by side. An awkward silence for Sora.

"Erm... Naminé?"

"Mm?"

"Do you think that when you find other friends, you'll quit hanging out with me?" He asks worriedly, secretly referring to Olette's group.

"I wish. That's like, impossible. You're like glue!" Sora looks a bit hurt, so Naminé quickly adds, "I don't think I will completely stop getting in touch with you... We're friends too, right?"

Sora grins happily. "Yeah!"

Some guys around their age passing by greet Sora. They appear to know him. Sora greets them back with a wave before turning back to look at Naminé. "What's up? You look... surprised."

"I think this is what's different about us."

"What is?" Sora waits for her to explain, confused.

"You're a people person, I'm not..."

"You can change!" Sora says quickly. "You weren't like this before were you Naminé?"

"What do you mean?"

"Before your mom died, were you always like this?"

"No, not exactly..."

"You were like you are with me now."

"Kind of..." She nods slowly. "But I think I was more like... Kairi."

Sora chuckles incredulously. "Loud-mouth? Shopaholic? Nosy? Short temper?"

She laughs. "Okay, so I wasn't ENTIRELY like her..."

"Naminé is Naminé. You're not like anyone," Sora says seriously, smiling.

She smiles back shyly.

"You know... If people saw the real you, they'd like you more. I know I did."

She gives him a playful teasing look, something about that look makes Sora blush for some reason.

"Sora Leonhart... Are you hinting that you like me?"

He panics somewhat. "Not!" He manages to make it look like a joke. They laugh and continue their way.

A little girl selling flowers walks up to them. "Wanna buy a flower for your girlfriend?"

Namine and Sora look at each other then quickly look the other way, embarrassed.

"We're not..." Namine mutters under her breath, blushing profusely.

Sora kneels down to meet the little girl face-to-face. Naminé watches him as he asks the little girl about each flowers' meaning, till eventually, he finally buys one and goes back to her after paying for it.

"For you!" He says to Naminé, grinning.

Naminé is surprised, but takes it anyway, then she stops and glares at him suspiciously. "What do they mean? I bet it's your revenge for the flowers I got you when you were sick!"

Sora chuckles, enjoying this. "You don't know what they mean?"

"My mom really loved flowers; she has a lot of books about them! I will find out its meaning!" Naminé warns angrily.

He merely grins back at her cunningly.

"I will! And if it means something bad, I'll stop talking to you forever!"

Sora turns his head around and points at the Star Bucks across the street. "We're here!"

Naminé is crossing her arms in front of her, still irritated.

"Don't forget to hide the flower in your bag or Kairi and the others won't let us see the end of it!"

She does so without questioning, and then just as they're about to entering the place, she adds quickly, "I will find out the meaning of the flower I tell you!"

Sora chuckles again. "Good luck."

"Why don't you tell me now and save me the trouble? I won't get mad if you tell me now!"

He puts on a mysterious grin, opening the door for her, "I said, good luck finding out."

"Grr... You're so annoying!" She goes inside, followed by a grinning Sora.

XXX

_Star Bucks…_

Everyone is surprised to see them enter together. Especially Yuffie, who can't contain herself. "HOLY COW! SORA IS COMING..._WITH NAMINE!_"

Kairi and Riku immediately turn their heads to see. Their eyes widen comically when they realize it's true.

"ARE THEY TOGETHER ALREADY?" Yuffie exclaims excitedly.

Kairi and Riku look at each other, thinking about that possibility, then –

"Naaah!"

XXX

At first, Sora's friends couldn't stop staring at Naminé; sitting between Sora and Kairi. She feels really uncomfortable under their stares.

Sora, noticing this, quickly tries to shift their attention to something else, by blabbering about meaningless stuff like usual. Naminé is grateful.

They were really thrilled with her presence, just like Sora has predicted. But Naminé still can't get over her shyness around people she isn't used to. And then, like always, Sora orders a chocolate cake, and he refuses to share it with Kairi.

"Riku! Sora won't share his cake with me again!" Kairi whines. Riku is distracted with his cell phone like usual, so he says nothing. Kairi growls, turning back to glare at Sora.

Sora calmly ignores her and turns to the quiet Naminé sitting awkwardly between them. "Want some?" He offers generously.

Kairi's jaw drops in shock. "You share it with Naminé, but not with _me_?"

Yuffie snickers. "That's because she's special!"

Naminé silently refuses Sora's offer, sweat-dropping.

"Yeah! That must be why! Isn't that right, So-_ra_?" Kairi winks.

Sora blushes, but quickly denies it. "Th-That's not it! Of course I'll share it with her, she's my best friend!"

"Aren't I your best friend too?" Kairi slowly raises an eyebrow.

Sora stutters nervously, "Sh-She's... My special best friend!" He saves himself lamely.

"Uh-huuuh..." Kairi and Yuffie drawl out together, rolling their eyes.

The rest of the scene goes on normally; Naminé's shy and quiet, only responding with one or two words.

At one point, Kairi and Yuffie are discussing some girly stuff Sora isn't interested about, so he turns to Riku and suddenly gets reminded of the Selphie Issue. He bites his lower lip, thinking of what to say to get Riku to go on a date with Selphie.

Riku, looking up from his cell phone briefly, notes this. "Got something to say?" He asks Sora.

"Er... Yeah... Actually, I do..."

"Say it."

"How about going out on a date with Selphie?" He says quickly, knowing full well Riku's answer.

Riku sighs, shaking his head. "No."

"Aww... Why not? You never refuse a cute looking girl. It's just one date!"

"It's Selphie."

"So? What's wrong with Selphie? She's cute, nice and crazy in love with you!"

"She's also annoying, obsessive and emotionally unstable."

"Come on!"

"Why do you insist that I date Selphie?" Riku asks curiously, raising an eye brow.

"Just because... I think you two are a GREAT match!"

"She's nowhere near my type."

"You... You both love sports!"

"So do you. In fact, I think she's more compatible with you. You're both idiots."

Sora pouts. "Hey!"

Momentarily, Naminé stops listening to Kairi and Yuffie chatting with each other and turns to watch the conversation between Riku and Sora.

"Give it up, okay? There's no way I'll date Selphie. It's like what I told you before; _our chances of dating are inexistent!_I don't want to even get to know her!" Riku says before getting back to his cell phone.

Sora's shoulders slump while Naminé blinks, surprised. Earlier today, that isn't what Sora has told Selphie...

"_He said... Erm... H-He can't date someone he barely knows."_

Sora has lied to protect Selphie...?

Naminé watches Sora from the corner of her eyes, mentally sighing. "_Sora... You're too nice for your own good."_

"You're such a prick!" Yuffie snaps all of a sudden, pounding at the table. Apparently, she's been listening to the conversation, too. "You go out with all sorts of girls but when it comes to a girl who actually loves you, you turn her down! Coldhearted bastard! I don't see what Selphie sees in you!"

Everyone remains quiet, feeling the air getting tense.

Riku calmly turns to Yuffie with a smug smirk. "Who knows? Maybe it's the same thing you saw in me back in elementary school!"

Kairi and Sora shrink in their seats. Naminé stares at their reactions, confused.

"I WAS AN IDIOT OKAY! IT WAS A MISTAKE!"

Naminé winces at her volume. Now she understands why Sora and Kairi are behaving like this.

"Alright, alright..." Riku hold his hand up in the air. "I'll give her a shot!"

Sora's eyes almost bulge out. "REALLY? YOU'LL GO OUT WITH SELPHIE?"

Yuffie isn't happy about this though. "TAKE THAT BACK!"

"What's the matter?" Riku stares at her teasingly. "I thought you wanted me to give her a chance?"

"Guys, calm down, you're attracting attention..." Kairi says, noticing the people around them eying them strangely. She is totally ignored though.

"YOU'RE NOT SERIOUS ABOUT IT! YOU JUST AGREED TO SPITE ME!"

"Ohh? Why would I want to spite you?"

Sora ruffles his spikes irritatingly, mentally curses himself for bringing up the Selphie Issue. He shouldn't have done it with Yuffie there. And to have an argument with Naminé around... He doesn't want that. Oh well, it's too late now.

"BECAUSE YOU'RE JEALOUS! YOU'RE JEALOUS BECAUSE I'M WITH AXEL! YOU JUST LIKE TO GET WHAT YOU CAN'T GET! IT'S LIKE A GAME TO YOU!" Yuffie retorts.

Before Riku can open his mouth for a comeback, Kairi quickly interrupts them, "GUYS! STOP IT! We have Naminé with us, and people are WATCHING!"

"Whatever! I'm out!" Yuffie gets up abruptly. "I shouldn't have wasted my time here! I'm better off with Axel!"

"Yuffie, wait!" Kairi calls out to her, but she's already gone. She turns back to glare at Riku. "Are you happy now?"

Riku looks away irritatedly.

Kairi sighs. "Now what are we going to do with Yuffie's ticket?"

Sora blinks at her. "What ticket?"

Kairi rolls her eyes. "Hellooo? We're going to the movies tonight, remember? We already booked the tickets!"

"Ohh! Right, right..."

Suddenly, Kairi gets an idea. "Hey! How about you go with us instead Naminé?"

"H-Huh?" Naminé panics.

"You can have Yuffie's ticket!" Kairi exclaims.

Sora grins, nodding excitedly. "That's a great idea! Come on Naminé, it'll be so much fun!"

Looking at Sora's excited eager expression, she can't say no. "Su-Sure..."

"YAY!" Kairi and Sora jump up from joy like little kids.

Naminé and Riku sweat-drop.

XXX

On their way to the movies, the gang stops near Baskin Robins, where Sora can't keep himself from drooling over the window.

Naminé watches him, sweat-dropping.

"Want some ice cream?" Kairi asks the gang playfully, expecting a reaction from Sora.

"YES!" is Sora's immediate reply.

She laughs. "Alright, you two go in and get yourselves some ice cream!" She pushes Sora and Naminé inside. "Me and Riku will wait outside for you!"

Sora doesn't need to be told twice, he rushes in there, dragging Naminé with him. Kairi watches them like a proud parent, smiling. Then she looks sideways at the depressed-looking Riku. "Come on! Let's wait for them near that bench!"

XXX

They sit down on that bench, a big space between them. Kairi looks sideways to find Riku in deep thought, staring down at his cell phone absentmindedly.

She sighs. "Riku!" She yells out his name, but his mind is apparently somewhere else.

Without warning, she snatches his cell phone from him, throws it on the hard ground till it smashes into pieces, then stomps on the pieces repeatedly until the chances of fixing the thing are nil.

Riku stares down at the remains of his cell phone, shocked.

Kairi appears to be proud of herself. "There! Better! Now can I get your attention please?"

He sends her a death glare. But he's too much in a sore mood to react to this.

She sits back on the bench a bit closer to him this time; an awkward silence fills the air as they're waiting for Sora and Naminé. She looks sideways again to see that Riku's still depressed and silent.

"Sorry about your cell phone…"

He shakes his head absentmindedly. "I'm getting a new one anyway…"

She sweat-drops.

_Silence._

"You're upset over Yuffie and Axel aren't you?" She finally brings up the subject she's wanted to discuss for a while.

"I deserve it," he mutters quietly.

Kairi sighs sadly.

"I was a big ass to her back then, this must be my punishment."

"Riku..."

"Believe it or not, I actually learned something from this."

"You will quit being a playboy!" She guesses excitedly.

"No."

She appears to be disappointed somewhat, that causes him to smirk. "I learned to cherish a person's feelings more," he finally says.

"Wow..." Kairi nods, impressed. "But are you sure you're not going to quit being a playboy?"

He laughs. "Why are you so insisting on that?"

"Playboys are heartbreakers. And that goes completely against what you've just learned!"

"Bu if I liked one girl, all the other girls that like me will be heartbroken."

"They'll get over it, because most of them are only in love with your looks!"

Riku rolls his eyes.

"Tell me when you are planning to quit being a playboy." Kairi insists.

"When I get bored," comes Riku's _bored_ reply.

Kairi pouts. "I hate guys like you! Why can't you be a little like Sora?"

He eyes her suspiciously. "Why are you so worked up about it?"

"Because I'm your best friend and I care about you!"

_Silence._

"What about you? Instead of going around match-making other people, why don't you find yourself a guy for a change?" He finally says.

"I-I'm looking okay! I'm waiting for the ideal guy!"

"Oh really? What's your 'ideal' guy like?"

Kairi appears to be thinking deeply. "Hmm... Well, he has to be tall, muscular, strong, handsome, smart, mature, nice but not too nice! I don't like guys that are too nice! He must be something of a bad boy!"

Riku snorts. "Typical."

"Hey let me finish!" She sends him glare. "Umm... And I want my guy to put me above everyone else! I must be his most important person, even above his friends! He must see me and only me!"

Riku smirks. "Possessive much?"

"Yes! I admit I _am_ possessive! Anyway, let me finish! Uhm... and he has to have electrifying eyes... and a sexy smile!"

Riku looks around, then back at her with a smirk. "Hey. Are you hinting that it's me?"

"No! But..." She scratches her chin thoughtfully. "Disturbingly enough, you DO fit the description..."

"Disturbingly?" Riku sweat-drops.

"Yeah! My ideal guy should be someone like you! Except... He can't be a playboy!"

Riku nods understandingly.

"Hey what about you?"

"Hm?"

"Who is your... 'ideal girl'?"

He smirks. "Not gonna tell."

She hits him playfully on the arm. "Not fair! TELL ME!"

He laughs out loud in amusement, not saying anything.

She pouts. "You're so rude! Can't you be a liiiiittle nice like Sora?"

"Because I'm not a loser like Sora."

"Sora is not a loser! He can get hundreds of girls to date him too but he doesn't!"

"That's why he's a loser... because he doesn't!"

"No, that doesn't make him a loser! He's a way better guy than you will ever be!"

"Okay, I'm a bit jealous here... You keep complimenting Sora, and bad mouthing me. You're like another Yuffie! Can you say ONE good thing about me?"

"Hmm... Let me think, can I say one good thing about you without being shallow? NO!"

"Who's the rude one now?"

She shrugs.

"So you're saying I'm not nice to you?"

She ignores him, folding her arms.

"Really? I wasn't nice to you when I stood up for you whenever you're bullied by Isabella?"

She bites her lower lip nervously.

"I wasn't nice to you when I treated you, and Sora, like you were my own family?"

Okay, now she's feeling guilty. She hits him teasingly on the arm, smiling despite herself. "You can be very nice when you want!" She hits him again, her playful grin stretching. He looks away, somewhat embarrassed.

"Awww.. someone's shy!"

"Sh-Shut up."

"How cute."

"Hey, don't call me cute."

"Cute," she says stubbornly.

He sweat-drops. "Why are Sora and Naminé taking so long?"

XXX

Sora and Naminé are just coming out of Baskin Robins. Sora has ended up buying two for him.

Namine notes this and sweat-drops. "Why did you get two?"

"Well... I got the chocolate flavor because it's my favorite and the strawberry one because I wanna try what you're trying!" He explains with a carefree grin.

Namine sighs. "Too much ice cream is bad for you! You already ate that chocolate cake we had at Star Bucks earlier! How many stomachs do you have?" She scolds him.

Sora pouts. "You know, you sound like my mom!"

They finally reach the others.

"Hey guys! We're baaack!" Sora grins while holding up both his ice creams.

"What took you guys so long?" Kairi asks impatiently.

"It's all Sora's fault!" Naminé exclaims while casting an annoyed glare at Sora sideways

Kairi and Riku look at her in disbelief. She's finally, truly spoken.

"He took so long trying to pick the flavor he wants. The people in line wanted to kill us!" She continues glaring at Sora accusingly.

"It's hard to decide okay?" Sora pouts childishly.

Kairi laughs while Riku shakes his head at his childishness.

"Come on, let's go to the movie or we'll be late!" Kairi warps an arm around both Naminé and Sora and drags them along with her.


	10. The Consequences of His Kindness

Chapter 10

Right after leaving the movies, the gang is walking Naminé back to her house, chatting and occasionally making fun of Sora for choking on his pop corn while laughing so hard at a scene in the movie.

They've had to drag him out to save his life, missing half the movie. But it hasn't been bad... Well, Riku is the only one pissed about this. Naminé, on the other hand, is very happy; she haven't had this much fun in a long time.

"Naminé, is this your house?" Kairi points at the house ahead of them

"Yes, this is it," Naminé smiles at them before leaving to go inside.

She notices that there, just in front of her house, her dad's car is parked. "_He must be back from the date_," Naminé concludes happily.

At the doorstep, Kairi hugs Naminé tightly. "Good night Nami!"

Riku standing coolly a bit behind nods his head. "Night."

Kairi nudges Sora to say something. Riku coughs. Unfortunately for them, Sora is too clueless to get the message. He just keeps grinning dumbly with the rest. Naminé, smiling shyly, goes inside and closes the door behind her. Kairi glares at Sora while Riku shakes his head, but Sora is still clueless.

"What?" He looks around at the faces glaring at him confusedly.

They leave home.

XXX

_Sora's Home_

Sora barges in the house, ruining what was planned to be a 'romantic evening' between Squall and his wife. He throws himself on the couch, right between his mom and dad. Squall glares at him; annoyed. "Why are you home so early?"

Sora looks at his dad ludicrously. "It's ten! That's not early!" Then he stops and narrows his eyes at his parents suspiciously. "Unless... you want to get rid of me!"

Squall forces out a loving – twitching – smile that makes Sora feel disgusted. "What makes you think that son? We love having you around."

Sora rolls his eyes before asking casually, "What are you watching?"

"Your mom's favorite soap opera, can't you tell?"

Sora looks at his mom, and sure enough; she's tearing. He sweat-drops and leaves them to go upstairs to his room.

XXX

The next day at school, Sora and Naminé are hanging around on the rooftop like usual, drawing and eating from Naminé's lunch box occasionally. She's apparently forgotten all about the flower, and didn't even check on it. Sora can tell.

"I think the date went really well! My dad can't stop smiling the entire day! I'm so happy!" Naminé finishes with a content sigh; hugging her sketchbook closer to her chest.

Sora forgets the flower issue and grins at her. "Really? YOUR DAD _SMILED_? A lot? AMAZING!"

She hits him playfully on the arm; chuckling. "Shut up!"

He grins from ear to ear at her reaction. "Did he really smile, or _attempted_ to smile? Because there's a difference!"

She tries to restrain herself from laughing harder. "You're such a clown!" Subconsciously, her hand is still on Sora's arm.

"It's not the first time I got called that..." He smiles, his eyes glinting joyfully.

Naminé giggles.

Suddenly, Selphie busts in, skipping madly toward Sora's direction. "SORA!"

Sora stares at her; wide-eyed. "H-Hi, Selphie..."

Selphie. The last person he wants to see right now. Well, not really last. Last is most definitely the fangirls. She's second before last. But he still doesn't want to see her! How is he going to face her about Riku? Helping her with Riku right now is impossible. There's Yuffie… Anyway, the point is – Selphie's chances with Riku are really nonexistent.

Naminé notes this too. She sighs, wondering how Sora is going to deal with the mess he's created from one single lie.

Selphie looks really happy. Is she really that confident that Riku would say yes for the date? Oh boy. How is he going to tell her now? "Er... Selphie... About the date-"

"THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING HIM OUT FOR ME!"

"Er... No problem... The truth is-"

"WHEN IS THE DATE?"

"Er... Actually..."

"KYAAH! I CAN'T WAIT! WHEN YUFFIE TOLD ME HE'S AGREED, I ALMOST BURST FROM JOY!"

Sora and Naminé freeze comically.

"Er... Yuffie say what?" Sora asks quietly.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you! See, I met Yuffie earlier this morning! And she was with you when you asked him out for me right? She told me he accepted! I'm _sooo_ happy!"

Sora and Naminé exchange a glance; too dumbstruck to say anything. They recall what Riku has said to Yuffie about Selphie at Star Bucks...

"_Alright, alright... I'll give her a shot!"_

"_That was what Riku said to Yuffie before she stormed off! Did she really think... that Riku was serious? CRAP! This is becoming a crisis!"_Sora thinks; panicking.

When Sora and Naminé come back to reality, Selphie has already skipped off.

"Can you point me to the nearest wall?" Sora asks Naminé blankly, "I need to bang my head on it!"

Namine sweat-drops to herself as Sora gets up to leave.

"I need to find Yuffie!"

XXX

Eventually, Sora finds Yuffie near her locker. He drags her with him to a quieter place, under the stairs.

"Why did you tell Selphie that Riku agreed to take her out on a date?"

Yuffie blinks confusedly. "Because it's... the truth?"

"No, Yuffie! It wasn't! Riku wasn't being serious!"

"O-Oh. Heheh... Oops?"

"Oops? Selphie's going to be crushed when she finds out the truth!"

Yuffie snorts. "Trust me, she'll be crushed sooner or later if Riku's the guy she likes."

"I know, but she'll be even more crushed when she finds out that we lied to her!"

"_We_? I didn't lie; I just told her what I heard. You're the one who lied from the start."

Sora sighs, then starts pacing around; panicking. "ARGH! WHY DO I FIND MYSELF IN THE CENTER OF THE PROBLEM WHEN I'M NOT EVEN PART OF IT? … Oh man, I'm so dead... Riku's gonna kill me, then Selphie's gonna kill me, and I'm going to KILL YOU!"

"Wow, so much killing going around..." Yuffie jokes; grinning.

"THIS IS NOT FUNNY YUFFIE! We've played with Selphie's feelings!"

Suddenly, Yuffie stares at him seriously. "There's something you should know. I used to like Riku, you know that much. But he only hurt me and trampled on my feelings like the prick he is! I don't want that to happen to Selphie. So if you're looking for a solution, it better not involve anymore Selphiku!"

Sora nods. "I'll try what I can! I don't want to hurt Selphie either."

"Great!" Yuffie grins before turning around to leave. "I'll see you around then."

"See ya..."

XXX

_Back on the rooftop…_

After filling Naminé in with what occurred between him and Yuffie, Sora sighs. "What do you think I should do now?" He asks Naminé.

"It's better that you tell Selphie the truth. You shouldn't have lied from the beginning."

Sora sighs again; his shoulders slumping as if the weight of the world is placed on them. The bell rings at this instant. "What do we have now?" He asks Naminé dejectedly.

"PE."

"Yikes! Selphie's there! A-And RIKU!" Then he narrows his eyes, a terrified dark expression on his face. "And the-" He gulps, "Fangirls."

Namine shakes her head; trying to suppress a laugh.

XXX

_Boys Locker_

"_Crap," _Sora curses in his head while dressing. _"I have to confront Riku. Did news reach him that—"_

"Sora! Why the hell Selphie thinks that I agreed to go on a date with her!" Riku yells all of a sudden from his locker's position.

"_Okay, they obviously reached him..."_

"Er..."

"You thought I was serious yesterday, didn't you? Argh... That's just like you! Idiot! Now what am I supposed to do? She's sticking to me like a freakin' leech! You should have told her the truth! I don't like her and I never will!"

"I-I can't tell her that! It'll crush her!"

"So you want _me_ to tell her?"

"N-No! Not now!"

"She has the right to know the truth!" Riku exclaims. "What are you going to do about this?"

"I don't want to hurt Selphie..." Sora suddenly says; frowning.

"It's not like I want to either... But she must know the truth," Riku finishes; leaving Sora in the locker room.

Sighing for the tenth time this day, Sora headbutts his locker.

During PE, Sora avoids Selphie entirely as they are practicing basketball. He can't avoid the fangirls, though. But believe it or not, Selphie has become number one on the list of people he does NOT want to see right now!

XXX

After PE, Sora's at his locker, preparing for next class. Kairi leans on the locker beside his; shaking her head.

"It's about the Selphie problem, isn't it?"

Sora almost jumps at her voice. "Wh-Where did _you_ come from?"

"I was here all along."

"Right..."

"Anyway, back to the problem – Yuffie told Selphie that Riku said yes for the date, even though that's not true, and you can't bring yourself to tell Selphie that."

"W-Wow! How did you know all this?"

"I heard from Riku."

"Oh..."

"So! What are you going to do about it, Mr. Trouble Maker?"

Sora sighs. Again. Leaning against his own locker, he says, "I don't know Kairi! I'm really confused! Help...?"

Crossing her arms; Kairi replies bluntly, "You're in deep shit."

"Thanks for the support!" He retorts sarcastically.

She chuckles. "Well... Selphie obsesses over something – or in this case, some_one_ – for some time. But eventually, she'll lose interest. She's always been like this. I remember last time, she used to like Zexion."

"So... You think she will lose interest soon?"

"Not soon enough, I'm afraid!"

Sora sighs depressingly.

"But! I do think that the only way to solve this is if she finds someone else to like. Someone who can like her back!"

Sora thinks silently to himself.

XXX

During their classes together, Naminé notices that Sora's in deep thought, completely silent, which is unlike him. Being popular is part of the problem. It's because he knows too much people and causes himself to get caught up in their own problems.

Even later, during the after school lessons, Sora's in a completely different world; which is _very_ unusual to Naminé. He's always paid lots of attention to her.

"_It must be because of the Selphie problem. He didn't solve it yet..." _Namine thinks; watching Sora spacing out during their lesson again.

XXX

They leave the school building together. Far in the distance, they spot what it seems to be Cloud's car, waiting for her by the sidewalk.

"Are you coming to say Hi today? You know, last time, dad insisted that you come say Hi personally!"

Sora sweat-drops. "Er... I thought we agreed that it's safer to just wave from the distance...?"

Namine chuckles, and then begins to walk away toward her ride. "You'll have to confront him sooner or later!"

"I'll take later then," Sora tells her as she walks off. He hears her laugh cutely again as she waves goodbye; smiling to himself.

Then, as he turns around, he comes face to face with a frowning Selphie.

"Sel-Selphie...!" Sora stutters out; feeling himself beginning to sweat nervously.

She looks really crushed. And there's only one reason for that: She knows.

"Sora..." She says in this depressing, un-Selphie-like tone. "Is it true?"

Speechless; Sora stares down at the ground instead.

"I... I heard from your fangirls. Th-They heard you ta-talking..." She sniffs; wiping off a tear that is about to fall. Sora really hates it when he makes a girl cry – it makes him feel low.

"Selphie... I'm so sorry... It's my fault. I'm such an idiot!"

"I-It's okay... I understand why did it. Uhm... I-I better go. See you..." She turns around to leave in a hurry, but Sora grabs her arm to stop her just in time.

"Selphie! Forget Riku!"

"_Sora, what are you thinking? Stop, STOP NOW!"_

"G-Go out with me instead!"

Selphie stares at him; wide eyed. The tears are coming down freely now.

"Wh-What?"

"_I can't believe I said it! My mouth moved on its own!"_Sora freezes; feeling like finding another wall to bang his head against.

XXX

Naminé – who's come back to remind Sora of their Math homework just in case he's forgotten like he always does – stops in her tracks a bit further from them in the background, and drops her sketchbook, utterly shocked of what she's just seen unfold in front of her. Lots of questions pop up in her. Most of them start with 'Why'.

_Why is Sora doing this?_

She turns around and flees the scene. A flood of emotions she can't describe dawning on her. And they are certainly not pleasant…

XXX


	11. The Cousin He Never Met

Chapter 11

_**Few days LATER...**_

It has only been four days since that day. The day that Sora has asked Selphie to go out with him. And even Naminé, no matter how hard she tries to deny it, is feeling very bothered by it.

Especially yesterday, when Selphie has kidnapped Sora from their usual hang out – the rooftop – only to confess to him that she's accepted his offer.

She can't believe it.

First of all, Selphie has always been more than madly in love with Riku, and secondly, just how fast has these feelings get switched to Sora? Can a fickle girl like that, who can change her feelings for once person so fast, really love a guy as much as she says she does?

Yes, Naminé is mad. She is mad at both Selphie and Sora. Even though she tries and not to let it bother her, it still does. She keeps thinking, "_Why should it bother me? It's just Sora... Annoying Sora. The leech that won't let go. Something like a friend, but nothing more..."_

And the fact that it is practically the talk of the entire school bothers Naminé even more. Everywhere she walks, someone has to bring it up for her to hear. It's like they're doing it on purpose.

The fangirls, for instance, are acting like someone has died. Just because their beloved Sora Leonhart has finally gotten himself a girlfriend.

Naminé thanks God she's not in Selphie's shoes right now. They're probably secretly planning to assassinate her, or something.

-X-X-X-

The first day of Sora and Selphie officially being a 'couple', Naminé is mad at Sora, and she can't explain it.

At their first class that day, Selphie asks Naminé to exchange seats, just to be able to sit next to Sora. Naminé glances at Sora uncertainly, but he avoids her stare quickly without saying anything. He who always makes sure to take the seat next to her.

Irritated with him having no reaction to this, she gladly lets Selphie take her seat, who grins at her gratefully.

Sora turns his head to check who's next to him, and for an instant, Naminé notes the crestfallen look on his face when he sees Selphie slump down next to him instead.

"_Hmph! Serves you right!"_ Naminé thinks, puffing as she makes her way toward Selphie's seat.

And this has happened in all their other classes too. Selphie always takes her seat... Further widening the gap between Sora and Naminé.

At the second day, Namine begins to feel sorry for Sora. He isn't happy... She can tell. Because those smiles he has on his face are fake. And if his so-called best friends can't see that, then the tight relationship Naminé has always believed Sora's friends share with him... isn't that tight after all.

And by the end of the third day, Naminé starts missing Sora stalking her around the school campus...

-X-X-X-

It's another day, spending lunch break on the rooftop with Naminé teaching Sora how to draw while he steals bites from her lunchbox... Like usual. In truth, Naminé has expected that he won't come, but thankfully, he has. A bit late, though.

They draw in silence. Which is unusual, because Sora normally blabbers nonstop about random stuff that makes no sense.

"Um..." Naminé stops writing and attempts to start a conversation.

"Huh?" Sora looks up from his sketchbook curiously.

"I... Heard you and Selphie are going out," Naminé states with her eyes still fixed on her sketchbook.

Sora looks down at his sketchbook again, clearly starting to feel awkward. "Uh... Yeah," he finally replies, trying to keep his voice as casual as possible.

_Silence_.

Namine doesn't stop here, however. "Do you like her?" She asks all of a sudden, peeking from her sketchbook to study his expression carefully.

Sora starts panicking under her stare. "Wh-What's not to like about her?" He answers vaguely, forcing out a chuckle.

"Why do you like her?" Naminé presses.

"Wh-Why...? W-Well... B-Because Sh-she's nice... cute... and… nice..." Sora stutters nervously.

"You said nice twice," Naminé notes, her eyes are still glued on her sketchbook; looking as calm as possible. Which is making Sora more nervous.

"I... Did?"

Namine nods.

Sora removes a sweat from his forehead. "Well that's because you're making me nervous! You make it sound like you're interrogating me or something! What's with you?"

"Why are you with me then?" Namine counters, a bit irritated.

"Huh?" Sora looks taken-aback.

"It's not good that you spend time alone with another girl. Your Selphie won't like it."

"It's okay because we're frien-" Sora answers naively.

"Stop being an idiot Sora!" Naminé – for the first time – really snaps at him.

He freezes, his eyes opening wide.

"I'm a girl, and you're a guy! People might see us different than you do!"

"So... You want me to leave?" Sora asks dejectedly.

She halts, biting her lower lip tightly. She wants to say no, but for some reason, she just sits there... speechless.

"I see," Sora mutters with a blank expression, dropping the sketchbook and preparing to sit up. "Selphie is probably looking for me." And with that, he leaves without another word.

Namine sighs heavily after he left.

"_Will he come back...?"_ She wonders. _"Of course he will! He always comes back! It's Sora, the annoying leech that never leaves me alone. Sora who followed me to my home. Sora who drags me everywhere with him against my will... Of course he'll come back... he has to."_

But he never does.

No matter how much Naminé believes he will, he never shows up. No matter how many times she's seen him somewhere, and they'll make that brief eye contact for a second or two, no matter when she sees that brief awareness in his eyes and longing. He never comes back.

He stays away from her, just like she used to want him to. He finally has. He's finally walked out of her life.

Wherever he goes, he's with Selphie, who keeps clinging onto his arm and pushing herself to him. Riku and Kairi following near them, talking between themselves casually without a care.

"_Some friends they are,"_ Naminé thinks bitterly.

He is in his own world. A world away from her…

"_Sora..."_

Naminé watches him walking out of the gym with Selphie and his friends; forcing out a grin at all the people around him.

"_You may be lonelier than I am... Being around so many people who don't really understand you. Why is it so unfair? You're always busy being everybody's clown, trying to make the people around you happy, but what about you? Are you happy?"_

Sighing, she turns around to her own path, her own separate world.

Sora notices Naminé's figure from the distance and takes an instinct step forward. Selphie pops up out of nowhere and blocks his way though. "SORA! I BAKED YOU A CAKE!"

"O-Oh... Thanks."

Looking past Selphie, he finds out that Naminé is already gone. He frowns to himself.

"_Naminé... Are you lonely again?"_

-X-X-X-

_**A week later…**_

_Naminé's House…_

Tifa enters her room around evening. "Hey there," Tifa says with a motherly smile, taking a seat next to Naminé on her bed.

"Hey…" Naminé replies dejectedly while rolling in her bed to face Tifa.

"Can I have a moment with you? I want to talk to you about something," Tifa asks politely.

Naminé nods numbly and makes way for Tifa to sit on her bed.

"I want to talk to you about Sora Leonhart."

Naminé's pouts all of a sudden. "Sora..." She hisses his name quietly in anger. "The idiot who entered my life and turned it upside down because of you. Why did you have to let him into my life? Can't you see what he did to me? He's turning me _crazy..._ _Crazy about him_!" She freezes at her last subconscious declaration while Tifa breaks into a wide grin.

"I-I didn't mean it like..." Naminé stutters nervously, blushing embarrassedly.

"Sure you didn't," Tifa answers quickly, smiling.

"It's just that his friends... _Are so unfair to him! _Anyone can see that he isn't happy with Selphie… But they... They don't even appear to care!"

"How do you know that?" Tifa listens intently.

"Well if they really care, they'd have already done something about it! They should care about their friend's happiness!"

"True..."

"See, they're so unfair to him!" Naminé then adds quietly, "… And me."

"It'll work out Sweetie," Tifa assures her, patting her back. "Sora is not the type to abandon friends! He'll come back to you, I'm sure of it!"

Namine nods slowly, frowning. Tifa smiles reassuringly one more time before standing up to pick up Naminé's bag and put it in its right place.

"Oh? There's a withered flower in your bag!" Naminé hears Tifa exclaim on her way out.

Namine blinks, then her eyes widen in recognition. "Oh!" She springs out of her bed to check on the flower. She takes the poor, withered flower from Tifa's hand and collapses on the floor with a sigh. "No... I killed it..." She mutters sadly.

"Poor thing," Tifa shakes her head, frowning. "Did someone give you that Flower?"

Namine nods, a sad look on her face.

"Oh, how sweet!" Tifa smiles dreamily. "A blue Salvia flower!"

"Do you know what it means?" Naminé looks up at Tifa eagerly.

"Of course! It means the person who gave you that flower is thinking about you," Tifa explains with a wink.

Naminé's heart skips a beat. _"Sora... Is thinking about me?"_

-X-X-X-

_Star Bucks…_

Sora, Selphie, Kairi and Riku are hanging out together in their usual place. Star Bucks. Everyone is chatting happily about random stuff, except Sora, who looks completely lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Selphie – sitting next to Sora – pokes him playfully on his cheek.

Sora turns his head to look at her, forcing out a smile. "A person."

"Me?" Selphie asks jokingly, pointing at herself.

"Maybe," he answers her vaguely.

Selphie giggles giddily, wrapping her arms around Sora's.

Meanwhile, Kairi and Riku observe them secretly.

"What an idiot," Riku whispers to Kairi, pretending to text someone on his cell phone.

"I know... He's so faking it," Kairi whispers back, hiding her face behind the menu.

"Oh yeah, guys! The Halloween party is coming soon!" Selphie exclaims suddenly. "Sora, we need to go shopping for a matching costume... NOW!"

"N-Now?" Sora whines tiredly.

"Yup! I'm going to be a mermaid princess! What about you Sora? Huh, huh? Oh, I know! A PIRATE!"

Sora breaks into a grin. "PIRATES RULE!"

"Yay!" Selphie claps. "You like my suggestion!"

"But they seem to get along so well..." Riku whispers to Kairi again.

"I know... His first real smile for some time now!" Kairi replies, then she adds worriedly, "I don't know anymore... Maybe Sora is getting over Naminé?"

They continue to watch as Sora and Selphie discuss their costumes, laughing together every once and a while.

"Is our plan failing...?" Riku mutters doubtfully to Kairi.

-X-X-X-

_Sora's House…_

After a LONG trip at the mall with Selphie to pick their Halloween costumes, Sora makes it back home, moaning tiredly as he stomps up the stairs to his room.

"Hey Sora-" His dad comes out of the living room, tries to say something, but Sora has already made it upstairs, out of hearing range.

_Moments later..._

Sora stomps down the stairs in a hurry.

"DAD! MOM! There's an unidentified stranger in my room!" He declares frantically, pointing upstairs.

His dad sweat-drops. "That's what I was going to tell you. It's your cousin. Roxas."

"He's going to stay here for a while," His mom adds, stepping out from behind his dad.

"THE COUSIN I NEVER MET?" Sora exclaims, wide-eyed. "How long is he staying here?"

"Till he finishes High School," His dad replies. "He'll be transferring to your school, by the way."

"NOOOO!" Sora cries dramatically. "But that's like..." – he counts with his fingers, causing his parents to sweat-drop – "THREE YEARS!"

"Don't worry, honey! He'll stay in the guest room when your dad finishes preparing it!" His mom tells him reassuringly.

"How long will THAT take?"

"A week."

"NOOOO!"

"BE NICE! He might hear you! And we don't want him to feel unwanted," his mom scolds.

"WHY ARE WE KEEPING HIM?"

"His mother is away in a business trip. She's his only family."

"WHERE'S HIS DAD?"

"His father died when he was a baby, be nice to him."

"…" Sora sighs defeatedly.

"Sora!" His dad shouts angrily all of a sudden. "Go back upstairs and greet your cousin properly!"

Sora's shoulders slump. "Fiine..." He stomps back up to his room.

-X-X-X-

_Sora's room…_

Roxas is lying comfortably on Sora's bed. As soon as Sora enters, he eyes him warily.

"COUSIN I NEVER MET, GET YOUR BUTT OFF MY BED!" Sora points dramatically at his cousin.

"I have a name. It's called _Roxas_," His blond-haired cousin replies patiently.

"Listen good ROXAS... There's certain rules you must follow while staying in this house..." Sora begins seriously. "You can take my room, use my bathroom, steal my parents affection, but you can never... _**EVER**_... touch my hair gel!"

Roxas blinks. Then blinks again. Speechless.

"ALSO! NO SHARING MY BED! YOU SLEEP ON THE FLOOR BUDDY!" Roxas raises an amused eyebrow as Sora starts pacing the room like a general commanding his army.

"AND THE COOKIE JAR I HID CAREFULLY UNDER MY BED..." Sora turns swiftly to glare 'threateningly' at the blond. "DON'T EVEN THINK OF STEALING FROM IT!"

Roxas sweat-drops, thinking he's stupid for mentioning its location. He can kiss it goodbye, now.

"GOT THAT?" Sora points accusingly at Roxas.

_Silence. _

Roxas is watching Sora quietly, without even blinking once, which is making Sora feel sort of awkward for some reason.

Then –

"Look, I'm not exactly thrilled that I'll be living in the same house as you for the next three years either," Roxas retorts coolly.

At this instant, Sora's mom decides to peek in through the door. "How are you getting along boys?" She asks cheerfully.

"Fine!" They snap at her at the same time.

Sweat-dropping, she retreats, and closes the door behind her awkwardly.

-X-X-X-


	12. Butterfly Kiss

Chapter 12

The weekend has been hectic.

Firstly, Sora and Roxas started off like rivals in everything. They've even divided the room and Sora's bathroom. And speaking of bathroom, they wrestle for who gets to use it first, and the winner spends longer time in there to make the other party suffer. They also fight over the remote control, their food, and every object in the house. And when they are called for dinner, they race to the table, pulling and pushing each other, and then they get into 'who finishes his meal faster' competitions. Needless to say, it has been a hellish two days for Sora's parents.

But on the fourth day, they wake up best buddies.

They walk into the kitchen for breakfast, chatting and laughing together; one of them actually pulled a chair for the other to sit on.

"I'm really glad to have you around, Rox. It feels like we're brothers!" Sora says, grinning at his cousin from across the table.

"Yeah, you're actually very cool Sora! We have so much in common!" Roxas returns his grin.

They can't stop complimenting each other.

Sora even shares his food, and later, he even insists that his cousin uses the bathroom first. It's a wonder why they always have to go to the bathroom at the same time.

From their respective seats at the kitchen table, Squall and his wife eye the two warily as they gently argue over who gets into the bathroom first.

"I'll die to know what happened…" Squall mutters to himself perplexedly.

-X-X-X-

_Twilight High, Front Gate…_

"This is it," Sora tells Roxas standing beside him, who is eying the gigantic school building in awe. "Your pit of hell for the next three years..." Sora finishes eerily.

"Ugh, I know... _School_..." Roxas sighs heavily.

"It's not JUST school, man!" Sora looks at him gravely. "It's a freakin' war zone!"

"Okay, now you're exaggerating..." Roxas chuckles, not taking him seriously at all.

"I'm telling you the truth, Rox! It's totally unsafe in there!" Sora insists.

Roxas stares at his cousin warily. "What's with you, man? Sure, school's a pain in the ass but it's just... _School_."

"No, Roxas," Sora shakes his head soberly. "You've got it all wrong, buddy..."

"Let's just go in..." Roxas rolls his eyes, and then continues walking.

"STOP!" Sora stops Roxas by his arm suddenly, a grim look on his face.

Roxas eyes the hand on his arm quietly, and then looks up at his cousin's face with a worried expression. "What?"

"You have to be prepared. Mentally. Emotionally. _Physically_!" Sora tells him seriously.

"Prepared for _what_?" Roxas snaps at the brunette. "Dude, it's **just **_school_! Stop being so dramatic!"

At this precise moment, the ground starts shaking alarmingly, and the birds in the area fly off for their lives. Roxas and Sora freeze on their spot, then look up in the school building's direction to see a mob of squealing girls gushing toward them.

"Oh no..." Sora breathes out with horror. "_**THEY'RE**_ COMING!"

"Who're they?" Roxas asks hysterically. "Why are they screaming?"

"WE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE!" Sora quickly drags Roxas with him, running frantically around the school courtyard to save themselves from the evil clutches of... _Fangirls_.

_Inside one of the empty classrooms…_

Sora and Roxas are panting heavily while hiding under random desks in an empty classroom, leaning on each others' backs.

"It's going to be like this _EVERY_DAY?" Roxas tells Sora behind him while panting.

"'Fraid so Rox!" Sora replies, removing a couple of sweats from his forehead.

"How do you cope with this?" Roxas asks with disbelief.

"Story of my life!" Sora answers him jokingly.

Roxas struggles to grin, tired as hell. "In the end, you weren't exaggerating at all! Those fangirls are complete _psychos_!"

"Told ya!" Sora retorts, grinning back. "Too bad for you, but I think, to the fangirls, you're like a gift sent down from heaven!"

"What do you mean?"

"Since I'm dating Selphie... They're kinda feeling down," Sora chuckles dryly.

"Sora, you…" Roxas turns his head around to Sora carefully. "You didn't tell me you have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah," Sora replies while panting, and then smirks back at Roxas. "Luckily for the fangirls, now they have a new victim!"

"Great..." Roxas mutters sarcastically, frowning.

Sora snickers, inwardly glad that there's someone else that'll be suffering with him for the three years to come.

-X-X-X-

_At the Lockers…_

"Sora! There you are!" Kairi exclaims, hands on her hips. "Huh? Who's he?" She blinks in surprise at the stranger beside Sora.

"I'm Roxas, Sora's cousin," Roxas replies calmly.

Kairi giggles sheepishly. "I'm Kairi! Sora's best friend!"

"Yeah, he told me all about you guys!" Roxas says, looking over at Riku too, standing closely behind Kairi. A stoic expression on his face, like usual.

"He'll be staying at our house for the next three years!" Sora tells them cheerfully.

"You're a new student here, right?" Kairi asks.

Roxas nods.

"AWESOME!" Yuffie exclaims suddenly, popping out of nowhere and startling poor Roxas, who steps back alarmingly.

"That's Yuffie!" Kairi tells him, giggling.

"She _always_ does this!" Sora adds with a grin.

"Yep! Me Yuffie! Nice to meetcha!" Yuffie salutes with a playful wink.

"O...kaay," Roxas nods cautiously, sweat-dropping.

"Wow, you look SO much like Sora!" Yuffie exclaims in awe. "Oh well, see ya around!" She vanishes in an instant. Just like that.

Roxas sweat-drops again before looking over at the silent silver-head glaring at him from behind Kairi.

"Oh, yeah, Roxas!" Sora suddenly exclaims. "If you're running away from Fangirls, and you happen to find Kairi on the way..._Stick with her_! Then the fangirls won't dare to even lay a finger on you!"

Kairi sweat-drops before shaking her head and turning back to her locker.

"Why?" Roxas takes a wary peek at Kairi as she takes out her books.

"Dunno!" Sora shrugs. "It's just safe with her."

"Alright... Got it," Roxas nods seriously.

Sora then starts elbowing Riku repeatedly. "He listens to everything I say! Isn't that awesome!" He whispers at the older guy excitedly.

Riku glares down at him, annoyed.

"Ookaay... Someone's not on a good mood today!" Sora retreats carefully.

"Um, Roxas, let's see your schedule!" Kairi turns to the blond.

"Uh, sure," He takes out his schedule from his pocket and hands it over to Kairi.

Kairi skims through it quickly. "Oh, wow! We share the same classes!" She exclaims giddily.

"Cool!" Roxas smiles at her friendly.

"Not even Roxas shares a class with me!" Sora whines, frowning.

"We do share PE..." Roxas reminds him with a grin.

Sora sighs heavily, then headbutts his locker while Roxas and Kairi sweat-drop in the background.

"_**SOR SOR**_!" A sudden shrill cry startles them.

"S-Selphie!" Sora stutters apprehensively, his head quickly slipping from his locker door and hitting the floor instead. He jolts up instantly though, completely unharmed.

"Selphie?" Roxas asks as soon as Selphie stops in front of them.

"His girlfriend," Kairi whispers to Roxas.

Roxas raises a quizzical eye-brow. "Oh, yeah, so _she's_ the infamous Selphie..."

"INFAMOUS?" Selphie echoes, glaring dangerously at a panicky Sora.

"Err... R-Roxas, you ignorant cousin, you!" Sora keeps poking his amused cousin nervously while forcing out a laugh. "What are you _saying_, man?... Hahaha... Ha?" Sora shrinks under Selphie's intense glare.

Fortunately for him, the bell rings.

"Come on! I'm taking you to class!" Selphie orders angrily, dragging a troubled Sora with her by his hoodie.

Roxas and Kairi sweat-drop.

"Poor guy..." They say at the same time, sighing.

"What an idiot," Riku finally speaks, startling the pair.

"He speaks…" Roxas mutters in awe.

"And he's leaving," Riku retorts coldly, moving away from the locker he's been leaning on and toward his own class.

"Don't mind him..." Kairi assures Roxas, smiling. "He's always moody!"

Roxas nods as he watches the silver-head walk off coolly.

-X-X-X-

_After first period…_

"Come ON Sora!" Selphie complains, moaning at the brunette while sitting backwards on the chair in front of his desk. "Let's go to the next class already! It's been five minutes since you started packing! What are you waiting for Sor-Sor!"

"Can't I stay here for a little longer?" Sora says with a sigh, leaning back on his seat comfortably.

Selphie pouts cutely. "_Why_? It's so boring!"

Sora takes a careful glance behind Selphie to find that Naminé is still packing her stuff.

"Just a little longer..." He says once he turns back to look at the pouting Selphie.

Without warning, Selphie leans forward quickly and pecks Sora on the lips. Sora is unprepared and doesn't see it coming at all. She leans back, grinning proudly.

Sora hasn't felt anything; in fact, it has felt like kissing a sibling. He quickly scans around him, but there's only the fangirls waiting for him, who're practically carving through the wooden desks in front of them with their pens and nails in jealousy. He sweat-drops, inwardly sighing with relief that Naminé has left already, and didn't have to witness it.

He turns back nervously to find a frowning Selphie. "What's the matter? You don't look pleased…" She freezes suddenly. "That wasn't your first kiss, was it?"

"Er... No," Sora replies, blushing embarrassedly.

"Who was your first kiss?"

"My second kiss was a random fangirl who popped out of nowhere, kissed me, and then ran off squealing..." He tells her, sweat-dropping at the memory.

"And the first...?"

_Silence._

"Kairi."

"NO _**WAY**_!"

"It was a dare by Yuffie! She dared me to put toothpaste in Riku's sandwich... I-I couldn't... it's _RIKU_!" Sora explains quickly.

Selphie giggles. "So you lost the dare?"

"Yeah and I had to kiss Kairi as punishment..."

"How did Kairi react?" Selphie asks curiously.

"I thought that she would make me and the floor one! But surprisingly, she was cool about it..."

"What if she... likes you?" Selphie asks suspiciously.

"No way!" Sora laughs, waving a dismissive hand.

"Why?"

"Never mind," Sora stands up. "We're late; let's dash to our next class!"

They hurry out of the classroom, passing by a bunch of crestfallen fangirls.

-X-X-X-

_After School, the Lockers…_

"Um, Roxas... You're coming with us to Starbucks right? It's where we usually hang out after school!" Kairi tells Roxas as she closes her locker.

"Sure," Roxas replies, shrugging at the redhead.

"COOLIO!" Yuffie exclaims happily. "Me and Kai are already bored with the Idiot and the Prick. It's nice to have a normal guy with us for once!"

Riku sends Yuffie a death-glare while Sora keeps grinning dumbly, unaware of the insult, making Roxas sweat-drops.

"Sora, is Selphie coming with you?" Kairi asks all of a sudden, turning to the brunette.

"Uh... Maybe?"

Kairi sighs. "You didn't ask her, did you..."

"Who wants Selphie anyway! She's anno-" Yuffie starts but then stops suddenly, something catching her attention. Well, something catching _everyone's_ attention.

"Sora Leonhart, please report to the principal's office _**immediately**_!" The principle announces through the school speakers bluntly.

Sora drops his books in shock.

"WHAT DID YOU DOOOO?" They all ask him at the exact same time, wide-eyed. Though Riku adds in, "You idiot."

-X-X-X-

_Principal's Office_

Nervously, Sora steps into the principal's office. This is his second visit here. After Isabella's incident, that is.

Inside, Tifa Lockhart, the school nurse, is waiting for him, grinning apologetically.

"Whatever it is... I didn't do it! I SWEAR!" Sora says quickly as soon as he approaches them.

The principle laughs heartily. "No, it's alright. Don't worry, you're safe."

Sora sighs with relief, removing a couple of sweats from his forehead. Then he freezes, narrowing his eyes at the principle suspiciously. "Why did you call me then...?"

"Actually..." Tifa steps closer. "It's me who asked to call for you!"

"Teef-" He begins, blinking with shock, but she glares at him for addressing her informally. "-Mrs. Lockhart! Why?"

"Oh, that's because..." She smiles mischievously. "I'm planning to kidnap you!"

Sora gapes at her. "HUH?"

-X-X-X-

_Half an hour later... inside Tifa's car…_

"We're here!" Tifa declares cheerfully, parking near Cloud's house.

"Here where?" Sora asks stupidly, and then his eyes go wide when he recognizes the place. "Hey that's...Naminé's house!"

Tifa quickly unfastens her seat-belt and gets off her car with her bag. Sora does the same but doesn't follow her toward the house.

"Hey! Wait! I'm not going in there! I'm going home, okay? Mrs. Lockhart, are you listening?...Teef?"

She keeps walking toward the house calmly, ignoring Sora's ranting.

"Oh hey Cloud!" Tifa greets her lover, pecking him on the cheek.

Sora's eyes go wide when he notices Cloud standing near the doorstep, glaring at him from the distance.

"Get him inside, will you?" Tifa asks Cloud sweetly before going in and leaving the two alone outside.

Sora gulps nervously, taking shelter behind Tifa's car._"I have to find a way to get outta here!"_He thinks frantically.

Cloud stares at him long and hard. "Come here," He finally speaks.

"_Oh, hell no..." _Sora mentally thinks, cringing.

"We want you to have dinner with us," Cloud says, and it looks like he's asking this against his own will, as if someone – _Tifa_ – has pressured him to do this. Because he doesn't look happy about it at all.

"S-Sorry, I-I go have to now!" Sora jumbles up his words nervously.

"Come inside now," Cloud orders one more time, his expression hard and threatening.

"B-B-But...!"

Naminé's father has already gone inside, leaving the door open for Sora.

"He didn't listen..." Sora mutters to himself dejectedly, his shoulders slumping in defeat as he drags himself to follow Cloud.

-X-X-X-

_Inside Cloud's House…_

As soon as Sora steps into the house, he is startled to see Naminé coming down the stairs facing the entrance at the same time, covered with lots of garments and a scarf.

"Na-Naminé!"

"S-Sor- AACHOW!" Naminé sneezes, a tired look on her face.

"Are you okay? You look very pale..." Sora says worriedly.

"I-It's just a small c-cold..." Naminé assures him, sniffing.

Cloud comes out of the kitchen, a worried look on his face. "I told you to stay at home today!" He scolds his daughter, actually showing some emotion in front of Sora for once.

"Dad, I'm fine... R-Really! It's not a big deal!" Naminé smiles at her father reassuringly.

"You're sick? I'm sorry, I didn't notice..." Sora says with a frown, feeling extremely bad for not knowing.

Naminé smiles at him warmly, shaking her head. "It's alright, you're busy..."

"Sorry..." Sora stares at the ground, not happy with himself.

"I'm glad you came," Naminé mutters gratefully with a heartfelt smile stretching on her lips.

Sora looks up to stare at her; his heart beating faster at the sight of the smile he's longed for. "Then I'm glad I came too."

Cloud watches the two as they keep staring at each other; completely unaware of his presence anymore.

"Is he your boyfriend?" He asks his daughter bluntly.

Sora and Naminé flush from embarrassment, diverting their stare from each other quickly.

"Daaad!" Naminé whines, glaring at her father accusingly. Sora chuckles to himself. Naminé turns her head swiftly to glare at him, pouting cutely.

"Kids, I put some cookies on the table in the living room for you!" Tifa peeps in her head from the living room.

"COOKIES!" Sora exclaims giddily, dashing after Tifa.

Namine giggles at his childishness while Cloud shakes his head.

_Living Room_

"I didn't have one for a while! My cookie supply mysteriously ran out recently..." Sora tells Namine sitting on the floor next to him as they munch on Tifa's delicious cookies. "It must be Roxas!" Sora hisses darkly. "I'll get him to confess next time!"

Naminé giggles.

"Oh, yeah, you haven't met Roxas, have you? He's my cousin!"

"I know, I've seen him around school. And the fangirls... I heard them talk about him occasionally!"

"Really...?" Sora sweat-drops. "He's getting his own fanclub... Poor guy!" They laugh simultaneously.

Later, they share a delicious meal prepared by Tifa. And it isn't as gloomy as the last one that Sora has had with them. Everyone is laughing, having fun and enjoying their meal… _Even_ Cloud, Sora notices with disbelief.

-X-X-X-

It's late now, and Sora is preparing to leave. He's already said goodbye to Cloud and Tifa, and Naminé is sending him off at the front door.

"Take care now... Miss Runny-Nose," Sora tells Naminé with a playful grin.

Naminé grins, nodding her head before sneezing abruptly.

"You alright?" Sora asks worriedly.

"Mm."

"Don't come to school tomorrow. Stay at home and rest, okay?"

"I will."

"Boy, do I envy you!"

Naminé laughs, but then starts coughing violently.

"Okay, okay! I won't make you laugh again!"

Naminé smiles once the coughing stops. "Idiot..." She says with a giggle evident in her voice.

They stare at each other for a while... then –

Sora's cell phone ringing startles them.

"Oh, it's my cell phone!" Sora laughs nervously before checking it. "It's a message from Selphie..." He mutters quietly. "They're wondering how I'm coping with detention...Hah! They think I had detention!" Sora laughs to himself, shaking his head.

"You better go to them then..." Naminé says, frowning slightly before turning back toward her house.

"Wait, Naminé!" Sora calls out hurriedly, stuffing his cell phone back into his pocket.

"Hm?" Naminé turns back causally to face him again.

"I have something to tell you!"

"What-"

He kisses her. A gentle hint of a touch that lands on her lips like a butterfly's caress.

"If I get another cold, it's all your fault!" Sora grins playfully once he leans back. "Good night!" He adds quickly before turning around and dashing off.

Naminé continues to stand where she is, at the doorstep, completely stupefied.

-X-X-X-

_**'I was always a fool when it comes to love, but I think... now... I'm slowly starting to get the hang of it...'**_

-X-X-X-


	13. Axel and Demyx Join the Crew

Chapter 13

_Back at Sora's House…_

The boys are trying to sleep, with Sora lying on his respective bed, while Roxas sleeps on a mattress prepared for him at the floor near Sora's bed.

Roxas is watching Sora staring at the ceiling, a thoughtful look on his face. "Did something happen?" He asks the brunette curiously all of a sudden.

"H-Huh?" Sora looks down quickly at his cousin. "N-Nothing happened!"

"You seem jumpy..." Roxas studies him carefully. "Something did happen, huh."

"I told you! Nothing happened!" Sora snaps at the blond.

"What did you do this time?" Roxas presses, knowing that pressure is always the key to make Sora spill. It's only been a few days, but he already knows Sora very well. Weird.

Sora cringes, his eyes shifting nervously all around the room. "I-It's nothing big, okay!"

"You said nothing BIG... so it's obviously _something_!"

"I SAID IT'S NOTHING!" Then he mutters almost pleadingly, "Just let it go..."

"But if it's nothing, it's can't be _big_!" Roxas counters cleverly.

All of a sudden, they hear Sora's dad shout angrily, "SOORRAAA! ROOXAAAS!"

Their eyes widen in horror when they recognize the voice.

"Shit, it's your dad!" Roxas hisses panicky.

"IT'S GOING TO BE SOMETHING WHEN I GET TO YOUR ROOM... AND MAKE _**YOU**_ NOTHING!" Squall exclaims as his footsteps are getting closer to Sora's room.

Instantly, Sora and Roxas duck under the safety of their blankets and pretend to snore.

-X-X-X-

_Next day, at the lockers…_

"Hey Sora," Kairi turns to the brunette getting out his books from his locker next to her. "How was detention yesterday?"

"It was great!" Sora replies with a happy grin, and a content sigh.

She raises a quizzical eyebrow.

"I-I mean _**torture**_!" He saves himself in time, shaking his head tiredly to emphasize his statement.

"Uh-huh..." Kairi nods slowly. "By the way, where's your cousin? Haven't seen him today..."

"Roxas?" Sora shrugs. "Dunno."

"Think he'll be okay?" Kairi asks worriedly.

"With the fangirls around every corner? ...Doubt it," He looks around them eerily.

"Idiot..." Kairi laughs as she turns back to her locker, shaking her head.

-X-X-X-

_Somewhere dark, spooky and unknown…_

"Girls!" Isabella, the head of the fangirls, declares to her fanclub in a dark eerie room in the school basement. AKA, their operation room. "I have an important announcement to make!"

The fangirls stand in their positions immediately like soldiers in an army.

"Yesterday, Agent Cookie took a very _interesting_ photo while trailing behind target B," Isabella nods her head at the expressionless fangirl with dyed purple hair standing next to her. Target B meaning Sora, while Target A is Riku, and, recently, Target C Roxas.

"This is it!" Abruptly, Isabella pounds on the table in front of them a picture of Sora kissing Namine that night in front of her house.

The fangirls gasp dramatically, and some of them even swoon on the spot while Isabella's expression darkens dangerously.

"_Naminé_..." She hisses, narrowing her eyes hatefully at Naminé's figure in the picture.

-X-X-X-

_History Class…_

Saix, their substitute teacher, steps inside Sora's classroom. Nobody likes Saix. Sure, some girls find him handsome... But the thing is, Mr. Saix has a bad reputation that precedes him. He is a two-faced psycho.

So when the students notice him coming in as their substitute teacher, they pale; terrified. An eerie silence fills the air.

"He must have gotten inside the wrong classroom y'know?" Rai guesses out loud, breaking the silence.

All of them continue staring anxiously at Mr. Saix, who's still standing at the doorstep. Except for Sora; who's napping on his desk, like usual.

"I am your substitute teacher for today. My name is Saix, but you are obliged to call me 'Sir'," Saix declares in a calm, strict voice.

The class groans with disappointment. Except Sora, who snores loudly instead.

Saix's sharp eyes land on him immediately. Everyone pushes their desks away from Sora as Saix marches toward him.

"Comfy? Do you need a pillow?" Saix mutters as he leans in a bit toward Sora's head. Sora sighs contently in response as he shifts about in his sleep.

Then, without warning, Saix lifts up Sora's desk and throws it across the room with a growl. Sora jerks up alarmingly, now wide awake.

"THIS IS A CLASSROOM, NOT YOUR PERSONAL NAPPING PLACE! IF I SEE YOU NAPPING ONE MORE TIME IN THIS CLASS, IT'S YOU WHO I WILL BE THROWING ACROSS THE ROOM NEXT TIME, DO YOU HEAR ME BOY?" Saix bellows in an ear-deafening scream that shakes their entire classroom.

Sora's eyes turn into huge saucers as he looks up at their teacher, frozen from shock. "Erm... Y-Yes sir?" He replies fearfully.

"Good," Saix walks back calmly to his desk, as if nothing has happened, and starts calling out the names.

Everyone stays as quiet and as motionless as possible the entire time.

After Saix calls out the names, he starts off the lesson normally, when all of a sudden –

"DEMYX!" Saix whirls around abruptly at the blonde seated somewhere in the middle, startling the entire class.

"Y-Yes sir?" Demyx jerks up from his seat abruptly.

"I HEARD YOU TALKING!"

"B-But I'm not, sir!"

"YOU LIE! I CLEARLY HEARD THE SOUND COMING FROM YOUR DIRECTION!"

"Th-That wasn't me, sir! Th-That was a fly buzzing around me!" Demyx replies honestly.

"AND YOU DARE LIE AGAIN!" He marches toward Demyx's seat hurriedly like a mad bull.

"I-I'M SORRY, SIR! PLEASE DON'T THROW ME, SIR!" Demyx sobs, curling into a ball like the coward he is.

Saix stops suddenly, and then turns back to the white board. "Alright then, let us continue with our lesson..." He says calmly.

Everyone sweat-drops while Demyx sighs with relief, slumping back down on his seat.

"As I was saying..." Saix begins as he writes stuff on the board. Suddenly, though, he's hit on the back by one of Axel's paper balls.

The entire class gasps in disbelief at what Axel has just DARED to do, readying themselves to take cover under their desks if their teacher loses it completely.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Saix turns back to glare at the class with the deadliest look ever. "Who. Threw. This?" He asks eerily.

_Silence_. Not a word. Each student is practically acting like a statue. Except Axel, who's leaning back on his seat casually.

"If you don't tell me who threw this, _all_ of you will-"

Everyone glances at Axel at the same time. Saix's eyes narrow at the red-head.

"_Who_. Threw. This?" He asks him in particular this time.

"Someone who isn't me... Obviously." Axel replies coolly.

"YOU LIE!" Saix explodes again, causing the entire class to cringe. "I SAW YOU WITH MY OWN TWO EYES!"

Axel blinks, surprised. "What are you man, an alien? You have hidden eyes on your back or something?" He jokes carelessly. The class dares not to laugh, though.

"I SAW YOUR REFLECTION ON THE WHITE BOARD!" Saix cries angrily, and then points at the door. "TO THE PRINCIPLE'S OFFICE, _**NOW**_!"

"Then why did you ask in the first place? Sheesh..." Axel mutters to himself before getting up and coolly walking out of class.

"S-S-Sir!" Demyx weakly raises his shaking hand.

"WHAT?" Saix turns to him swiftly, still seeing red.

"I-I-I need to go to the bathr-"

"PRINCIPLE'S OFFICE, _**NOW**_!"

"Wh-What, no I-"

"I SAID, _**NOOOWWW**_!" Saix screams on the top of his lungs, causing a temporary earthquake in their classroom.

Demyx sprints out of class like a frightened puppy.

"Hey, I think that's kind of unfair-" Sora says, feeling sorry for Demyx.

Saix stops him short with his death glare.

"-Sir," He finishes with a nervous gulp.

Suddenly, Saix turns calm again. "How about we make it fair?" He suggests with a polite smile.

Sora breaks into a grateful grin. "I _knew_ you weren't that bad, sir!"

"JOIN THEM!" Saix cries at his face abruptly.

"H-huh?" Sora blinks at him, terrified.

"TO THE PRINCIPLE'S OFFICE!"

"B-B-But...!"

"_**GOOO**_!"

-X-X-X-

_Detention…_

In the end, there's three unfortunate students put into detention. Two of them are completely innocent. But the world, as we already know it, is cruel and unfair...

"That teacher is a complete psycho," Axel complains while leaning back on his seat.

"How can they let a psycho like him work in our school?" Demyx exclaims with disbelief.

"Yeah... someone like him should be locked up in an asylum or something." Sora adds, and then sighs, lying his head on his desk.

"Hey Sor, you're Roxas' cousin right?" Axel asks all of a sudden.

Sora blinks, surprised. "Uh, yeah... You know my cousin?"

"Sure I do!" Axel replies quickly. "He's my buddy!"

"Wow, Roxas sure makes friends fast..."

"No, we're friends longer than that!" Axel explains. "We used to go to the same Middle School, then me and Dem transferred to the one here."

"That's great! So now you're reunited!" Sora exclaims with amazement.

"Yup! We should hang out together some time eh?" Axel smirks.

"Yeah, totally dude! That'll be awesome!" Demyx grins.

Sora nods, grinning back. "Totally!"

-X-X-X-

_Meanwhile, in the school hallways…_

"I wonder which classroom Sora is in..." Selphie wonders out loud as she is walking through the school hallways. Suddenly, without warning, the fangirls ambush her from behind, cover her and mouth, and drag her with them to their secret hide out.

_Fangirl's operation room, the school basement…_

"Leader, we've brought Selphie as your requested!" One of the fangirls holding Selphie tells Isabella.

Isabella smirks as she looks at Selphie's confused expression.

"Spooky!" Selphie looks around the pitch black room in awe. "So is this your secret base or something?"

"Tie her to the chair girls!" Isabella orders the girls, pointing to the lonely chair under the spotlight.

"Whoa! Wait! Careful! Easy with the hands, I just got my fingernails manicured!" Selphie struggles as they tie her to the chair. After they finish tying her to the chair, Isabella steps under the spotlight spookily.

"Isabella!" Selphie exclaims when she recognizes the person, a gullible look on her face. "Hi!"

"Heey Selphie... Boy, do I have some terrible news for you!"

"Huh?" Selphie blinks curiously. "What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you what's wrong! It's your boyfriend, _Sora_!"

"Sor Sor? Did something happen to him?" Selphie asks panicky.

"No, you silly girl!" Isabella chuckles dryly. "Sora is lying to you!"

"Naah, that can't be true! Sora doesn't lie to me!" Selphie shakes her head confidently.

"Oh, but he is..." Isabella's smirk stretches, then she takes out the photo that Agent Cookie took from her bag and shows it to her.

Selphie studies it for the longest minute, a blank expression on her face.

"Now do you believe me?" Isabella watches Selphie for some sort of reaction.

_Silence._

Then –

"AWWWW! HOW _**CUUUUTE**_!" Selphie squeals like a fangirl. "Can I have a copy! Please, oh please?" She begs.

Isabella gapes at her, jaw dropping.

"Are you _**INSANE**_? SORA BETRAYED YOU BY KISSING ANOTHER GIRL!"

"Oh my gosh! They look **TOO** adorable!" Selphie squeals again, staring at the photo and completely ignoring Isabella.

"ARGHHH! WHAT AN IDIOT!" Isabella growls angrily. "ARE YOU _**BLIND**_? HE'S KISSING _ANOTHER GIRL_! WHY AREN'T YOU MAD?"

"Mad? Why should I be?" Selphie asks stupidly.

"HE BETRAYED YOU!" Isabella cries with disbelief. "Any normal girl who gets betrayed by her boyfriend would be furious!"

"Well, I'm a very _open-minded_ girlfriend!" Selphie explains 'cleverly'. "So my man wants to have a little fun with another girl... Where's the harm in that?"

"SORA, _A.K.A_, YOUR _**BOYFRIEND**_ IS CHEATING ON YOU WITH NAMINE! _NAMINE_!" Isabella cries again with disbelief.

"He's not really my boyfr-" Selphie starts casually, but then bites her lower lip shut, as if she said something she's not supposed to. "Oops!"

Isabella's eyes sparkle curiously. "What did you just say?"

"N-Nothing!" Selphie panics, avoiding eye-contact.

"SPILL!" Isabella orders threateningly, stepping toward Selphie with murder-intent in her eyes.

"Okay, okay I'll spill!" Selphie cries frantically. "It was all a plan by Riku and Kairi to make Sora realize he loves Namine!" She confesses quickly under one breath.

"And why did you agree to it?"

"Out of the goodness in my heart...?"

Isabella sends her another of her death glares.

"Fine! It was because Riku agreed to go on one date with me if I did this!" Selphie confesses with a pout.

"Oh... Now we're making sense here!" Isabella smirks thoughtfully. "So it's just an act... Does Sora know about this?"

"Maaaybe."

"ANSWER THE QUESTION!"

"N-No!" Selphie shrinks fearfully.

"So he doesn't know, huh..." Isabella's smirk deviously. "_Perfect_."

-X-X-X-

_School, Rooftop…_

Sora heads up to the rooftop, his and Naminé's usual hang out at lunch break. She's not here today of course, because she's sick and resting at home. But he still wants to be here. It's quiet, peaceful and just... the perfect place to feel depressed?

He sits on the ground next to the spot where Naminé usually sits, and imagines her next to him, drawing on her sketchbook and smiling at him angelically.

After that, Sora skips basketball practice and heads straight home, leaving his cousin and his friends behind.

-X-X-X-

_Starbucks…_

"Alright, I'm going back home," Roxas tells the gang; Kairi, Riku, Yuffie and Selphie, as he prepares to leave.

"Already?" The girls ask in disbelief.

"Yeah, I'm kinda worried about Sora..."

"Oh right... He left without a word today..." Kairi says worriedly.

"And he even skipped practice," Riku adds thoughtfully.

"That's probably because Naminé isn't in school today…"

Roxas' ears perk. "Who's Naminé?" He asks curiously while raising an eyebrow.

"Just a '_friend_' of Sora's..." Kairi answers, rolling her eyes.

"I see. Anyway, I'm taking this chocolate cake with me for Sora. It'll definitely cheer him up," Roxas grins, turning around to leave with the bag containing the cake. "See ya."

"See ya Roxy!" The girls wave goodbye at him. Riku ignores him, he hasn't warmed up to the blond yet.

"Poor Sora..." Selphie sighs sadly all of a sudden. "He is very depressed without her…"

The others nod sadly at the table.

"But I'm happy that our plan has worked after all!" Selphie adds cheerfully all of a sudden.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kairi asks eagerly.

Smiling mischievously, Selphie pulls out the copy of the same photo Isabella has shown her earlier and puts it on the table.

Yuffie gasps dramatically while Kairi squeals like the cupid she is when they look at it. Riku only smiles a little, shaking his head at their overreactions.

"Freakin' finally!" Yuffie blurts out, punching the air victoriously.

"I'm so happy, I could cry!" Kairi removes a fake tear, "Yup... Mama is happy. Our little boy finally grew up and made his move!"

"Where did you get this pic?" Riku asks Selphie curiously.

"Oh, the fangirls kindly took them for us!" Selphie answers him with a gullible smile.

"The fangirls? How did they take it?" Riku raises an inquisitive eyebrow.

"One of them, Agent Cookie, took it! I think her job is to stalk their targets and take pics!" Selphie explains to him giddily.

Riku's eyes widen in horror, and then he looks around him warily. "You mean... They follow us... Everywhere... And take... pics?" He asks dreadfully in a quiet tone.

"Yup!"

"Sora's right..." Riku starts nodding slowly. "Those fangirls _are_ scary..."

"Hey Selph, can I have this photo? I need it for blackmail material!" Kairi giggles evilly.

"No way! Get your own copy!" Selphie protests, hugging her photo closer to her chest.

-X-X-X-

_Meanwhile, at Sora's house…_

Sora is lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling blankly, when Roxas enters with the bag containing the chocolate cake.

"Hey man," Roxas grins at Sora. "Look what I've got!" He brings up the Starbucks bag for Sora to see.

Sora stares at him sideways blankly. "Hn."

Roxas' grin slips off at his cousin's unusual attitude. "What's wrong, Sor? I thought you love this stuff."

"Roxas..." Sora begins in a hollow, quiet voice.

Roxas blinks curiously at him. "Yeah?"

"I need your advice on something."

"Yeah, what?"

"It's a long story, so sit down…"


	14. The Fangirls' Plan

Chapter 14

A long, heavy silence follows after Sora tells his cousin everything about Naminé. When Roxas starts to open his mouth to speak, Sora's dad busts into the room suddenly, startling them.

"You two!" He glares at them threateningly. "Bed, NOW! I want a quiet, peaceful night for once in my life! I have an important meeting tomorrow, and if I hear even one sound, you two will be sleeping outside! And I mean it!"

They nod at him quietly, with Sora's side subconsciously leaning closer to his cousin's.

Squall is taken a back, a surprised look on his face. "Ahem… U-Understand?"

They nod again.

Squall glances at the both of them suspiciously before closing the door. "G-Good night!" He snaps gruffly.

As soon as Sora's dad closes the door, Sora, lying on his bed, quickly turns to face the other side, giving his back to Roxas, and covers himself with the blanket.

Roxas, standing in the middle of the now pitch-black room, glances at Sora's figure with a sympathetic.

"Sora…" Roxas whispers quietly, walking silently toward the edge of Sora's bed. "You're still awake, right?"

Sora curls into a ball under the blanket, ignoring Roxas completely.

Roxas chuckles lightly. "That's soo mature!" He whispers sarcastically, then gently lifts the blanket up and attempts to sleep next to Sora, who quickly kicks him off the bed then sticks out his head from under the blanket briefly. "NO SHARING BED!"

Roxas sits upright, groaning with pain, and rubbing the back of his head where he fell before glaring up at Sora accusingly. "What's with you?"

"It's disturbing!"

Roxas raises an eyebrow, trying to surpass an amused smile. "Dude, you're my cousin."

_Silence._

"… Sorry, Rox." Sora mumbles guiltily, looking down. "It's just that… I'm not feeling so well today. Bad mood."

"I can see that," Roxas says with a smile. "With all this drama with you and this Naminé…"

"I should break up with Selphie, but…"

"…You don't want to hurt her, I understand," Roxas sighs before standing up and stretching his arms. "I'm going to change first and then put your chocolate cake in the fridge for you so you can eat it tomorrow, okay?"

"Hn."

"Don't peek!" Roxas says jokingly as he takes off his shirt.

"No thanks, I don't wanna turn blind," Sora replies dryly from under the blanket.

Roxas chuckles then throws his shirt at Sora's head. The brunette pops out of his hiding place like a bunny out of a rabbit hole and throws back Roxas' shirt at him while playfully shielding his eyes with his hands.

"BOOOYS!" Squall yells angrily from the other room. "WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT NOT MAKING ANY NOISE?"

Quickly, Roxas jumps after Sora under his blanket, where they grin at each other playfully.

"Hey Sora…" Roxas whispers seriously all of a sudden under the blanket.

Sora is still grinning. "Yeah?"

"There's something you should know about me…"

"What is it?" Sora asks innocently.

"Uhh…" Roxas touches his hair sheepishly. "I'll tell you another time."

"You sure?"

He nods.

Suddenly, Sora's dad busts in again, startling them. "YOU TWO!" He shouts as soon as he comes in, then stops and blinks curiously at the two boys under the same blanket. "What are you doing?" He asks suspiciously. "And why are you sleeping on the same bed? You're too old for that!" He quickly takes off the blanket and his eyes widen in shock when he sees Roxas topless. "Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" He glances at the two suspiciously again. "What are you doing…?"

"Uhhh… Nothing?" The two boys answer innocently at the same time.

"That's it…" Squall says quietly. "Sora will be sleeping on the couch downstairs. Roxas stays here. You two will not sleep in the same room together again!"

"Why?" Sora asks dumbly.

"He thought we were…" Roxas whispers the rest in Sora's ear. The brunette's eyes widen in shock and horror.

"No way!" Sora exclaims in disbelief. "Dad, you're a pervert!"

_Bam!_ He gets a smack on the head by Squall truly.

-X-X-X-

It's morning, the next day, and Sora has already left to school before Roxas.

At the kitchen table, Squall is sitting and reading his news paper while his wife cooking in the background. Roxas enters, looking around for Sora.

"Hey, where's Sora? I checked the couch but he's not there… He's already awake?"

"Amazing, huh?" Squall mutters sarcastically while reading the paper.

"He already left to school sweetie," Rinoa, Squall's wife, tells Roxas sweetly.

"He did?" Roxas and Squall turn to her at the same time with disbelief.

Sora's mom nods, then smiles happily while looking up the ceiling for some strange reason. "Sora is becoming more and more mature and responsible lately… I am so happy!"

"Sora, mature… Right," Roxas tries to suppress a mocking grin as he makes his way to the breakfast table.

-X-X-X-

_Twilight High, Lockers…_

"Sora? He already left to class with Selphie," Kairi tells Roxas casually.

"Already? To class?" Roxas asks in disbelief. "What's gotten into him?"

Kairi chuckles while getting out her books from her locker. "I wonder!" Suddenly, she feels Riku's presence behind her and turns around to greet him, smiling cheerfully. "Good morning Riku!"

"Hn," Riku replies gruffly, glaring at Roxas, who rolls his eyes at the usual cold treatment.

"What do you want?" Riku asks Roxas coldly when he notices him still looking at him.

Roxas pretends to blink at him confusedly. "Oh, you're talking to me?"

Riku gives him a 'duh' look.

"Sorry, I thought you can't speak," Roxas rolls his eyes while turning to face his locker.

Riku's left eye twitches in annoyance, an angry look on his face.

Kairi sweat-drops beside him, she quickly puts a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "Calm down, Riku… Appease your anger…" She whispers to him softly.

Riku takes a deep breath and decides to ignore Roxas, noticing a new message on his cell phone. He flips it open and his eye widen in horror as he reads the message's contents:

**I know what you did last niiiight. Giggle. 8D**

**-A fangirl who thinks about you day. And night. And day. And night…etc**

"Riku? What's wrong? You're paling…" Kairi says worriedly.

Riku remains immobile, staring at the message in his cell phone as if he's just seen a ghost. Roxas and Kairi exchange a confused glance.

Suddenly, Yuffie pops out of nowhere again between them, laughing hysterically while clutching her stomach.

"Y-Yuffie!" Roxas and Kairi exclaim with surprise, blinking at her.

Yuffie keeps laughing harder while using a random locker for support. Riku looks up from the message on his cell phone slowly, eying Yuffie oddly as she hugs the locker in front of her, tears almost coming out of her eyes from laughing so hard.

"The…. Th-The…. THE LOOK ON YOUR FACE! BWAHAHAHAHA!" Yuffie bursts out in another fit of laughter, pounding at the locker.

Instantly, Riku puts two and two together. "That was _you_!" Riku hisses at her accusingly, inwardly relieved isn't just a prank.

Yuffie keeps laughing harder, unable to control herself, when all of a sudden, Riku punches the locker near her head. Without warning, his face becomes incredibly close to hers, too close for comfort.

Yuffie stops laughing immediately and blinks at him, shocked. "P-Prick…?"

He stares right into her eyes with a look that would make fangirls die.

She gulps nervously; her face is practically glowing red. He breaks into a devilish smirk at her reaction. "You… Stop teasing me," He whispers huskily at her.

"Ahem, AHEM!" Kairi coughs for their attention, raising an eyebrow with a hand on her hip.

Riku turns to look at the source of the cough. When he notices its Kairi, he backs away immediately, putting his hand behind his head.

"Roxas, let's go to class!" Kairi declares loudly, taking his arm and dragging him away with her. Riku sighs heavily, walking off toward the opposite direction, leaving a still frozen Yuffie who has practically become one with the locker behind her.

-X-X-X-

_Sora's English Class…_

"Don't forget class, next week is our school's Halloween Party! We need volunteers to help us…"

Sora diverts his attention from the teacher to Selphie, who keeps throwing paper planes at his head for his attention.

"_I wonder how Namine is doing…__" _Sora thinks to himself with a sigh. Then suddenly, a paper plane hits him in the eye.

"AW! STOP IT SELPHIE!"

_Silence._

"YEAH, SELPHIE! STOP IT!" A random fangirl adds.

_More silence._

Sora looks up slowly to see the teacher tapping her foot impatiently and glaring at him.

"Sorry," he mumbles, looking down guiltily.

The teacher shakes her head but then continues on with the lesson, turning back to the whiteboard.

Sora looks sideways at an angry Selphie. "Sorry. I'm not in a good mood today," he whispers at her apologetically.

Selphie breaks into a huge grin. "It's OK Sor-Sor! I understand!"

"Selphie, for the hundredth time, QUIET!" The teacher snaps at her, almost breaking the whiteboard pen in her hand in two.

Sora snickers to himself. Selphie is not even looking at the teacher; her eyes are focused on Sora . "Yeeeah, that's better! Smile more Sor-Sor!"

Sora shakes his head, but smiles at her gratefully nonetheless.

-X-X-X-

_Roxas' and Kairi's Geography Class…_

Roxas is sitting just behind Kairi, with Axel and Demyx at his both sides. They're chatting idly, when all of a sudden, their teacher steps into their classroom.

"Damn, I swear I heard he's absent today!" Axel curses as he's leaning back on his seat comfortably, with his shoes on his desk.

"Good morning students. I'm Mr. Xemnas. And I'll be your substitute teacher for Geography class."

"We sure have a lot of substitute teachers lately…" Demyx mutters to himself.

"Alright… let us begin the lesson; open your books to page…" Xemnas orders as he's flipping through his own book.

The class groans tiredly as they get out their books.

_Ten Minutes Later…_

"God, he is so friggin' boring!" Axel hisses quietly at his friends.

"I know! He talks as slow as my grandma!" Demyx adds, sighing miserably.

"Dude, at least your grandma is more interesting than him!" Roxas mutters sarcastically, hiding his face behind his book.

"Is class over yet?" Kairi asks tiredly before yawning.

"No, it's not. Go back to sleep, love," Axel tells her flirtingly.

Kairi shrugs then lays her head back on her desk to sleep.

_Twenty Minutes Later…_

"I can't take it anymore!" Demyx whines, clutching his head like a madman.

"What is he talking about anyway?" Roxas asks irritatedly.

"No clue," Axel replies, tapping his feet impatiently, then he freezes as a brilliant idea invaded his mind. "Guys, I have an idea! Listen!"

_Twenty five minutes later…_

As the lesson continues smoothly, except for the fact that half of the students are practically fighting the urge to sleep, suddenly, Axel falls down from his seat and onto the floor.

Everyone gawks at him in shock as his body starts shaking violently on the floor, with foam coming out of his mouth.

Demyx flies off his chair quickly and crouches beside his dear friend. "AXEL! AXEL, BUDDY! DO YOU HEAR ME? AAAXEEEELLL!"

The whole class finally wakes up from their slumber and then stares in horror at the whole thing. Except for Kairi, who is still sleeping.

"Wh-What happened to him?" Roxas asks panicky.

"I… I… I have no idea!" Xemnas breathes out anxiously, completely frozen in shocked.

Demyx keeps shaking his friend's body hysterically, sobbing on his chest, "AXEL! DON'T FOLLOW THE LIGHT! DON'T FOLLOW THE LIIIGHT!"

Axel peeks a little to grimace at Demyx angrily. "Stop it!" He hisses quietly at the blond.

But Demyx doesn't hear him. "AAAXEEEL! YOU'RE TOO YOUNG TO DIE! YOU'RE STILL A VIRGIN; YOU CAN'T DIE NO-OOF!"

He gets a kick from Axel on the stomach that nobody else notices.

"Sir, what are we going to do?" Roxas asks 'worriedly', trying to divert the teacher's attention.

"C-Carry him to the nurse office… Quick!" Xemnas orders.

"Okay! Come on Demyx, let's carry him there!" Roxas says hurriedly, but Demyx is distracted, still sobbing on Axel's body.

"DEMYX!" Roxas yells at him impatiently.

Demyx finally lifts his head from Axel's chest. "Huh? OH! Let's go! We can still make it! HE CAN STILL LIVE PEOPLE!" Demyx declares to the students around them dramatically, and then bravely lifts up Axel bridal-style out the classroom, followed by a sweat-dropping Roxas.

-X-X-X-

_Outside in the hallway…_

As soon as they make it out, they burst out laughing, pounding and rolling on the floor.

"Man that was epic!" Axel shakes his head, smirking.

"Did I do good? Was I convincing enough?" Demyx asks them eagerly.

Roxas and Axel glance at each other, sweat-dropping.

"Dude, you deserve an Oscar for your acting," Axel tells him jokingly, suppressing a laugh.

"I'm good, aren't I?" Demyx points at himself proudly.

Roxas shakes his head at him before turning to Axel, "So where do we go now?"

"We're going to the nurse office of course!" Axel exclaims excitedly.

Tifa Lockhart, the school nurse, has always been Axel's idol. He will deliberately get himself injured just to see her. Yeah, he will go that far.

"I LOVE TEEF!" Demyx cries all of a sudden, startling them, a love struck expression on his face as well.

"Oookay…" Roxas sweat-drops. "But what are we going to do there? Axel's completely fine…"

"Am I?" Axel tells him mischievously, smirking.

Roxas rolls his eyes, sighing. "Here we go again…"

-X-X-X-

_Nurse Office…_

"How is Naminé? Did she get any better?" Tifa asks the blond man sitting on the seat adjacent to her desk.

"She's a lot better, thanks to you," Cloud replies, smiling appreciatively. "She'll probably come back to school tomorrow."

"That's great!" Tifa exclaims happily.

All of a sudden, the door busts open.

"Yo, Teef!" Axel waves coolly at her, and then frowns when he spots Cloud, another man, with Tifa.

"Hey Axel…" Tifa rolls her eyes tiredly, and then glances at the other two coming in behind him. "Demyx and Sor… Huh? A new face?" She blinks curiously at Roxas.

"He's the new student, Roxas," Axel tells her distractedly. "But never mind that, who the hell is this man?" He glares suspiciously at Cloud, who graciously glares back.

"Yeah! Who is he?" Demyx pouts, standing by Axel's side to glare at Cloud too.

"N-Nice to meet you Roxas," Tifa smiles nervously at the younger blond. "I'm Tifa Lockhart, the nurse."

"Yeah…" Roxas sweat-drops while sneaking a glance at Axel and Cloud. "I heard about you."

Suddenly, Axel turns around to Roxas with a giddy smirk. "Isn't she a hottie?"

Roxas sweat-drops again at his friend. "I… guess."

Axel makes a face. "You _guess? _Oh yeah, forgot that you're a faggot," he jokes.

Tifa giggles as Roxas takes a lash at Axel. "Shut up!"

"Isn't he cute when he's shy?" Axel chuckles while pointing at Roxas, and then smirks when he receives the Ultimate Death Glare from said blond.

"These clowns still bother you, I see," Cloud mutters to Tifa while glaring at Demyx and Axel.

Tifa smiles at him weakly. "It's alright, I like having them around, they're like my kids."

"Your _kids_?" Axel and Demyx repeat in disbelief and despair at the same time.

Cloud suppresses an amused smile before telling Tifa, "I have to go." On his way out, he turns to her again briefly. "I'll see you at home."

"AT _HOME_?" Axel and Demyx gape at them, appalled.

Cloud is smirking as he leaves the nurse's office.

Tifa turns to Roxas, both of them ignoring the lifeless, crestfallen empty shells of Axel and Demyx in the background. "Are you related to Sora Leonhart? You resemble him a lot…" She asks.

"Yeah, he's my cousin," Roxas replies casually. "I'm staying at his family's house actually."

Tifa beams. "Really? How wonderful! Sora Leonhart is one of my favorite students!"

"He is very well-liked," Roxas remarks with soft smile.

"If you need anything, come see me okay?" Tifa winks friendly.

"Thanks."

"By the way…" Tifa looks at them confusedly. "Don't you have class now? Why are you here?"

Roxas sweat-drops.

Tifa sighs tiredly. "Don't tell me Axel made you cut class too just to see me?"

Roxas' sheepish smile is his response.

She shakes her head, sighing again. "Typical Axel. That's what causing him and Demyx to fail their subjects," she looks at Roxas sternly. "Don't let him ruin _your_ future."

"Don't worry about that…" Roxas sweat-drops, then turns to Axel and Demyx. "Come on guys… we should head back to class."

-X-X-X-

While they're walking in the hallway silently, suddenly, without warning, the floor and the lockers around them start to shake violently.

"Oh no…" Roxas freezes in horror. "It's THEM!"

"THE FANGIRLS!" Demyx exclaims in true terror.

The three boys look around them frantically, trying to find a way to escape or a place to hide.

"ROOOXAAAAS! AAAAXEEEEL!" The fangirls call out from the distance, screaming excitedly.

Quickly, Demyx jumps into the nearest trash can. Axel manages to fit inside one of the lockers. Roxas stands there, looking around him panicky, noticing the fangirls gushing from every direction and corner, feeling hopeless.

Needless to say… he gets caught.

They fangirls tie him with a rope and drag him with them like a dog to their secret base, laughing maniacally at their victory.

Axel and Demyx peek out of their hiding places to wave him off.

"He was a good friend…!" Demyx removes a tear from his eyes, shaking his head.

"We'll miss ya Roxas!" Axel cries after him, laughing hysterically.

-X-X-X-

_Fangirls' secret hideout…_

"Dear Roxas… Welcome to our club," Isabella greets him with a cunning smile.

Like before with Selphie – Roxas is tied to a chair in the middle of pitch black room with only one spot light pointed down at him.

"You girls are crazy…" Roxas mutters while trying to recognize his surroundings.

Isabella snickers. "You're a bit rude aren't you? The complete opposite of Sora… I like that."

"Where the hell am I? What do you want from me?"

"You're in our secret hideout, silly! It's where we fangirls gather and plot stuff…" Isabella answers casually.

"Evil…"

Isabella laughs out loud. "I like you. You've got an attitude."

"Cut with the crap and let me go!"

"Alright, alright… Be patient! I will let you go eventually!" Isabella rolls her eyes in a bored manner. "But you will have to listen to me first!"

Roxas narrows his eyes at her suspiciously, waiting.

"Good boy," Isabella smirks, and then quickly, she makes her way to stand in front of Roxas under the spotlight.

Roxas glares at her hard.

"Alright… Where to begin… Oh! Right!" She turns around swiftly. "Caramel! Come over here for a sec, will you?"

"Who's…Caramel?" Roxas raises an eyebrow.

Suddenly, a tall girl with dyed white hair dressed all in black and wearing black sun glasses comes under the spotlight. "Yo," she greets in a deep, almost manly voice.

"Let me officially introduce you to Caramel!" Isabella points at the new girl. "Head of your fanclub!"

Roxas sweat-drops. "I have a fanclub already?"

"Of course!"

"So you dragged me here just to introduce me to my fanclub?"

"That, and another thing…" Isabella begins pacing around the dark room. "You're Sora's cousin, right?"

"I think that's easy to figure out by now," he points at his face, which obviously resembles Sora's.

"You know Sora's… 'Girlfriend' too, right?"

"Selphie, what about her?"

"Then do you know that Selphie dating Sora is just an act from Selphie's part? A plan that Sora's friends created to make Sora realize his feelings for Naminé?"

Roxas stares at her curiously, wide-eyed. "What?"

"You _don't_ know, do you?"

"Know _what_?" Roxas snaps at her impatiently. "About Naminé? I know everything about her; I just haven't met her personally yet."

Isabella frowns darkly at the mention of Naminé.

"Hey… Aren't you 'Isabella'… the fangirl that almost got Sora suspended?" He glares at her harder. "How can I trust _you_?"

"You can ask Selphie. She blurted it out herself," she rolls her eyes.

Roxas continues glaring at Isabella suspiciously. "OK, suppose you're telling the truth… what does it have to do with me? What are your intentions?"

"We don't want Sora to know the truth. Obviously because then he'll break up with Selphie to be with Naminé," Isabella makes a disgusted face.

"Stop bothering my cousin!" Roxas shouts at them angrily. "You can't force someone to be with you!"

"Sora belongs with me!" Isabella retorts while glaring at him menacingly. "He promised me!"

Roxas is taken-aback.

"I knew him since kindergarten…" She continues softly while staring at the floor and pulling back strands of her blonde hair behind her ear. "Back then... Kairi, him and I used to play together. I don't have parents. They left me when I was five. So I've been living alone with my grandmother at her place, who's now bedridden and useless," she snorts, Roxas is listening silently.

"One time, I still remember… while our class is playing at the backyard of our kindergarten… Sora found me crying near the bushes… My parents lied to me and said they'll be back, they were just going for a while…" She smiles bitterly. "But that morning, when my grandmother woke me up to take me to kindergarten, I stopped by my parents' room to find that all their stuff are gone. They left me, just like that…"

She smiles softly, which is unusual because she's known for her harsh features. "That time, Sora kneeled down beside me and offered me his cookie. He stayed with me during the entire recess, never leaving my side until I stopped crying," suddenly, her features turn hard again. "Then he promised! He promised he'd be with me! That I'll never feel lonely or sad again… because he's going to be there for me! Me! Not Kairi, not Naminé! He's going to be there for _me_!"

"He was just a kid then, you can't take his words seriously," Roxas tells her calmly. "He probably meant it in a friendly way."

"I know!" She yells at him irritatedly. "I know he's just being nice, it's just how he is! But still, I—"

"Give it up," Roxas tells her with a tired sigh. "You trying too hard makes you look pathetic."

She frowns at him angrily. "I don't like you after all! You're not nice!"

"I don't care if you don't like me, in fact, I don't care about everything you've just said to me! Let me go already!" He starts struggling to untie himself again.

"But we still haven't told you why you're here," Isabella tells him slyly.

"…" He glares at her impatiently to continue.

"Good, you're listening," she smirks before starting to circle Roxas as she's telling him their plan. "We need you to pretend to be Sora!"

"What!" Roxas stares at her incredulously.

"…Since you resemble him so much, it'll be easy… and as for the hair, Caramel here will dye your hair for you," she motions at said person standing like a statue in the background. "And don't worry; it's a special kind that will go off as soon as you wash your hair!"

"Let me guess…" Roxas tells them while looking around wearily. "You want me to pretend to be Sora, go to Naminé, act like mean old me, and ruin things between them…?"

"You're smart!" Isabella beams as the fangirls in the background squeal.

"And you're stupid…" Roxas deadpans with a 'what-the-hell-are-you-smoking' look, causing them to freeze. "…for thinking I'd do that to my own cousin."

But to his surprise, Isabella smirks evilly, confident. "But if you don't…" She tells him innocently. "Then we'll make sure to let everyone in school know about your… _secret_."

He raises an eyebrow at her suspiciously. "What…secret?"

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about!" Her smirk stretches smugly. "You see, we collect every bit of data we can get about our targets. All of you, Riku… Sora… We have all your information… Your likes, dislikes, preferences… your background… _Everything_. We know you more than anyone else!"

"…" Roxas narrows his eyes at her carefully.

"So," she continues smugly, stopping in front of Roxas and starting to cut off his ropes. "If you don't do what we want…" She shrugs innocently and steps back from a now free Roxas.

Roxas stands up slowly, deeply in thought. Then finally, he looks up to meet Isabella's smug face and says calmly, "Do what you want. I don't care. It's not like I'm ashamed or anything…" He shrugs at her casually before making his way out of the room.

Isabella is shaking with frustration right now.

Roxas stops suddenly and turns halfway around. "Oh and…" He looks at her smugly as she turns around to glare at him. "Thanks for telling me about Selphie and all that… I'm sure the others will love to hear that their plan has actually worked. _Sora's totally into Naminé_." With that, he's left, pleased with himself.

Isabella screams frustratedly. A worried fangirl approaches her nervously and asks, "What do we do now? Do we tell everyone about his secret?"

Isabella shakes her head quickly. "No! It doesn't matter anymore! It'll only be bad for us."

A Roxas fangirl nods. "True… we don't need any more unnecessary fans to compete with."

"So what do we do now?" A Sora fangirl asks Isabella.

"Obvious! We devise another plan!"

-X-X-X-

_At the Lockers…_

Kairi finds Sora leaning on his locker, a blank expression on his face. She sighs and then marches toward him.

"Where have you been mister?" She puts her hands on her hips angrily.

Sora glances at her sideways with the most lifeless eyes ever.

"Whoa... Did you get any sleep yesterday?"

"Couldn't sleep…"

Kairi stares at him guiltly. "Is it about Naminé?"

"…" Sora doesn't bother denying anymore.

"Sora…" She is starting to smile. "Are you admitting that you like Naminé? As in, like LIKE?"

Sora smiles softly. "Maybe…" He tells her tauntingly.

"Oh, Sora!" She tackles him with hug. "I KNEW IT! I _knew_ you'd finally come to realize it! I was right!"

"But… Selphie…" She hears Sora mutter in a troubled tone.

She leans back to smile at him sheepishly. "Actually… the thing is…"

And then she starts explaining to him everything…

-X-X-X-

_After she's finished telling him…_

"…" Sora continues to stare at her blankly.

"And I'm so, SO sorry!" Kairi finishes, looking down shamefully. "It's not like we planned it from the beginning… we just took advantage of you abruptly asking Selphie out which is probably just because you felt sorry for her… she told us about it later the same day… she was going to turn you down because she you're like a brother to her but… at that time, I came up with this plan, Riku was against it though but I eventually persuaded him to be part of it, of course, the price is that he has to go on one date with Selphie…" She stops blabbering suddenly to stare at Sora's blank expression with concern. "Sora… you're not mad are you?"

"I don't know what to say…" Sora eventually speaks, shrugging. "I guess I'm… relieved."

She lets out a sigh of relief, starting to smile.

"But I also feel betrayed…"

Her smile slips off. "Soraaa… we're so sorry!" She whines guiltily.

He shakes his head. "Don't be… you've done it just for my sake, after all… So I guess… I understand…"

She beams, abruptly attacking him with another hug. "Oh Sora! You're so nice! I'm so glad we're friends!"

He chuckles, hugging her back. "But maybe I'm too nice sometimes…"

"Definitely," she tells him, smiling playfully while pulling back again. "You shouldn't have lied to Selphie in the first place, or asked her out because you felt sorry for her later. You played with her feelings," she tells him scoldingly.

He looks down shamefully. "I know. And I'm going to talk to her and set everything right."

She smiles at him warmly. "Good boy."


	15. Flashback: Part One

**NOTE! This chapter, the first huge part... happens in the past. So don't get confused!**

Chapter 15

_**Two Years Ago**_

_Roxas', Axel's and Demyx's middle school…_

"Roxy, my friend… Instead of watching your crush from the distance like some love-struck idiot every friggin' day for these last TWO YEARS, why don't you just man up, ask her out, and end all this drama? Too cliché man…" Axel tells his friends casually while leaning on his locker. "Ho-nest-ly man! It got ME annoyed! How do you think our little blue-head must feel? Maybe she has these bottled up feelings for you, always waiting for the right moment to confess to you, but can't overcome her shyness… Y'know… The usual school drama shit?"

Roxas, leaning on his own locker, quickly turns his attention away from Xion – his crush, chatting with a few girls at the opposite side of the hallway – to send Axel a silent death glare. If Axel's not already used to it, he'd have flinched.

"What?" The red-head shrugs innocently, smirking. "It's the truth!"

"GUYS!" Demyx cries suddenly beside Axel, struggling to open his locker. "MY LOCKER WON'T OPEN!" He pushes and pulls, but with no avail, he even puts his feet on the locker and starts pulling.

Roxas and Axel glance at him blankly, sweat-dropping.

In the end Demyx gives up with his locker, panting. "I-IT REFUSES TO OPEN!" He declares to his friends with a pout.

"Maybe it's because you forgot to enter your locker code?" Axel suggests calmly, but inside, he's boiling with irritation at his friend's stupidity. "AGAIN."

Demyx scratches his head dumbly, then he beams suddenly. "OH! YOU'RE RIGHT!" He chuckles at himself. "AS EXPECTED OF AXEL! GENIUS!"

Axel and Roxas roll their eyes.

The blond stops again, a comical confused look on his face. "Wait a minute… What is my locker code? I forgot…"

Axel shakes his head tiredly and then briefly looks around him, only to spot Xion glancing in their direction quickly before looking away, he blinks curiously before a broad, naughty smirk spreads on his face. "Roxy, partner, I think my theory is correct after all…"

"Huh?" Roxas asks dumbly, unaware of it.

"I think you should take this opportunity and confess your undying feelings for her!" Axel tells him, smirking, "Don't you think so too, Dem?"

Demyx turns away from his locker confusedly. "Uhh… About what?"

"About Roxas and Xion," Axel replies patiently. "Don't you think Roxy should ask her out already?"

Demyx nods quickly with a gullible grin on his face. "Yeah, it's about time he asks her out!"

"See, even No-brain Demyx thinks so!" Axel nudges Roxas to get his attention.

"No way," Roxas replies bluntly, starting to feel anxious.

"Then when man, WHEN! I'm starting to get sick of this!" Axel cries exasperatedly. "Don't make me go over there and ask her out for you myself!"

"You. Wouldn't. _Dare_!" Roxas stares at him wide-eyed in horror.

"Oh trust me, I would," Axel retorts eerily with a challenging expression.

They glare at each other intensely.

"Oh no, not another glaring contest… You know, Ax, you will never be able to beat Roxas at glaring!" Demyx comments in the background.

Both of them ignore him, even though Axel's eyes are already watering.

Suddenly, Demyx notices Xion heading toward them and goes wide-eyed. "G-Guys!" He pulls both of their sleeves at the same time. "Sh-She's coming!"

Slowly, they turn their heads to look at the direction he's staring at, and, in Roxas' case, pale.

"Never mind man…" Axel mutters, wide-eyed. "SHE'S coming to YOU!" Then quickly he hides behind his locker door. "QUICK, DEM, ACT BUSY!"

Demyx quickly takes out a random book from Roxas' locker, and, unawaringly, pretends to read it while it's upside down.

Roxas just stands there, scratching the back of his head nervously while staring at the ground.

"Umm… Hey Roxas," Xion says timidly after she reaches him.

"H-Hey…" Roxas replies weakly, looking down and scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "…Xion."

_Awkward silence._

"A-Are you free tomorrow?" Xion asks nervously while gazing shyly at the floor as well.

"ALRIIGHT!" Axel exclaims abruptly from his 'hiding spot', causing Xion to blink in surprise.

Roxas looks up at her swiftly with big, wide eyes; completely stunned.

"So… are you?" Xion asks again, looking back at him and blushing.

"She's got more guts than you man!" Roxas hears Axel hiss at him quietly.

"Uhh… Y-Yeah…" Roxas finally manages to answer her, nervous.

"G-Great! Um… I was wondering if you can come to my party tomorrow…" She shyly shows him the invitation card. "You're invited…"

Disappointment is clear in his expression, but then he stops, something perking up his interest. "Your birthday party?" He asks curiously.

"Yeah, that's right!" Xion blinks at him with surprise. "H-How do you know it's my birthday tomorrow?"

Axel and Demyx snicker. Roxas turns his head briefly to glare at them before turning back to her embarrassedly.

"Uhh… I heard," He explains weakly. "…From s-someone."

More snickering in the background.

"I see…" Xion hides a small, growing smiling. "Um, well… can you come?"

"Su-Sure…"

"Great, I'll be waiting!" She smiles happily, and then quickly hands him the invitation card. "See you in English Class!"

"…S-See you," Roxas mumbles quietly as he watches her run off down the hallway, a dazed look on his face.

"Oh well, at least she invited you to her birthday party! That has to mean something!" Axel says as he closes his locker door, then he glares at Demyx, who's still pretending to read and snatches his book from him, and raises an eyebrow at it. "Seriously man, _MATH_ BOOK? EVERYONE KNOWS YOU CAN'T EVEN COUNT WITHOUT YOUR FINGERS!"

"And it's upside down," Roxas points out blankly.

"Really? I didn't notice!" Demyx says with a dumb expression. They sweat-drop.

-X-X-X-

_**Still two years ago, Destiny Islands,**____**Sora's Home…**_

Sora whizzes down the stairs like lightening, apparently late for school again. He barges into the kitchen to find his father, Squall, calmly reading the newspaper at the breakfast table.

"Someone's up early for once…" Squall mutters casually without look away from the newspaper.

Sora gapes at him. "EARLY? I'M LATE! IT'S ALREADY EIGHT THIRTY AND NO ONE BOTHERED TO WAKE ME UP, SO IT'S ALL YOUR FAU-"

"First of all, son, it's not eight thirty. It's seven thirty. And sec-"

"HAH! YOUR MIND TRICKS WILL WORK ON ME NO MORE! IT'S SEV-I MEAN EIGHT THIRTY AND YOU KNOW IT!"

Squall calmly puts down the paper on the table, and then glares at his son hard to let him continue, "And second, I reset your alarm clock to trick you into waking up early."

Sora freezes for a handful of seconds, a comical shocked expression on his face.

"Eeevil!" Sora breathes out quietly, pointing an accusing finger at his father, who shakes his head before getting back to read his paper.

"Sora, honey, hurry and eat your breakfast! Kairi should be coming soon!" Sora's mother yells from another room.

"Okay!"

_Destiny Middle School…_

It's a lovely morning in Destiny Islands. Kairi and Sora have just entered the school building, walking side by side.

"School… How I hate thee…" Sora mutters with a sigh.

"I'm surprised you even know 'thee'…" Kairi says, looking at him with surprise.

"Shakespeare. English assignment," Sora replies bluntly.

"Figures," Kairi shakes her head, smiling. "Wait! You actually did our English assignment? Hallelujah!" She breathes out in amazement.

Sora sighs deeply, his shoulders slumping a bit, then he looks up a little to raise an eyebrow at Kairi's upbeat face. "Seriously, what about you? Do you hate school?"

"Nope."

Sora gasps dramatically. "You're not normal!"

Kairi rolls her eyes. "Okay, so studying is a bit of a pain, but look at the good side…"

Sora snorts. "What good side?"

"…BOYS!"

Sora eyes her oddly. "Boys…?"

"And in your case… GIRLS!"

"Girls here scare me."

Kairi glares at him menacingly.

"Especially you."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that…" Kairi says carefully.

"Okay, so you said you like school because of boys… But what if it's an all-girls school, will you still like it?"

"Na-uh! I won't be able to SURVIVE!" Kairi replies quickly, an appalled look on her face.

"For me, I prefer an all-boys school," he nods to himself. "Much safer…"

"Give it one or two more years, since you're obviously a bit behind than the other boys, then trust me! You'll be kissing the ground girls walk on!"

Sora gives her a weird look. "Huh? Why would I do that?"

"I'll tell you when you grow up!" Kairi tells him as they reach their lockers.

Sora blinks curiously at a notice pinned on their lockers. "'There are cameras installed around the school so don't think about doing anything…?'" He reads out loud, a dumb look on his face. "Do what?" He questions innocently.

Kairi reads it too and bursts out laughing. "Oh my God! I can't believe it! They actually put cameras!"

"What do they think we will do…?" Sora asks her curiously.

"'It'!" Kairi tells him with a naughty wink. "You know, last time, they caught a couple doing 'it' in the library! I bet that's why they decided to put cameras! … You know what I mean by 'it', right?" She asks the last part suspiciously.

"Of course I know!" Sora snaps at her, blushing. "I'm not that much of an idiot, okay?"

Kairi giggles. "It's so cute how innocent you are!" She pulls his cheek, smiling playfully.

Sora pouts at her before slapping her hand away from his face. "Quit it!" She laughs harder, causing him to pout deeper as he pulls off the notice off his locker. He curls it into a ball, turns around, and attempts to aim it at the nearby trash can.

Unluckily for him, Riku Yoshida happens to pass at this instant, and the paper ball hits him square on his face instead.

Riku freezes, the casual look on his face is slowly turning into an angry, red-seeing expression aiming straight at Sora.

Sora gulps nervously, a horrified look on his face. He's just hit Riku Yoshida. RIKU! The strongest delinquent in the entire school, you mess with him, you're dead. And, he happens to have a grudge against him since that time when Sora accidentally hit him on the head with a basket ball during PE. Riku has really despised him since.

Meanwhile, Kairi stares wide-eyed at the whole thing, preparing herself to hide behind her lock door in case something happens.

Riku, slowly, makes his way to Sora, a clear murder intent burning in his eyes. "You threw it?" He asks the brunette slowly between gritted teeth, his hand curling into a fist, ready to punch at any second.

Sora stares at his curled fist while starting to sweat nervously. "I-I thought you were the trash can!"

Riku's expression darkens. "_What_?"

Kairi bangs her head lightly on her locker door at Sora's stupidity.

"N-No! I-I mean! I was going to throw it _in_ the trash can, b-but you got in the way, s-so… Heheh…" Sora explains while playing with his spikes nervously.

"You think you're a joker, don't you?" Riku narrows his eyes at him, punching the locker next to Sora's face hard and leaning in to glare into his eyes threateningly.

Sora is sweating visibly now. "W-why d-do you ha-hate me s-so much?" He stutters, trying to escape but Riku has him cornered, one side, there's Riku's fist by his head, and the other, Kairi's open locker.

"Because you're a useless, immature… _idiot_," Riku spits out coldly. "And just looking at you irritates me!"

Sora looks offended. "Hey! That's no reason to hate anyone! Maybe if you try to get to know me better—"

Riku snorts. "Who do you think you are, kid? Huh? There's no way I'd want to hang out with a loser like you!"

"Well, from _my_ point of view, you're the loser!" Sora says casually, his expression changes completely into an entirely serious one, taking Riku off-guard.

Slowly, Riku raises an eyebrow. "What did you just say?" He asks dangerously.

Kairi is practically panicking for Sora behind her locker, biting her lower lip nervously. "Idiot, what are you _saying_? Do you want to get beaten up by Riku Yoshida again?" She mumbles to herself anxiously.

"Yeah, you're the loser," Sora continues bravely. "You lost the chance to be friends with me!" He grins playfully.

Kairi nearly fall backwards anime-style.

"You _want_ me to hit you, don't you?" Riku says before raising his fist and preparing to punch Sora, who blinks wide-eyed at his fist's movements the whole time.

Luckily for him, Kairi quickly steps in, pushing Riku away from Sora. "Stop it! Stop bullying Sora every time you lay eyes on him!"

Riku blinks at Kairi curiously, and then a smirk spreads across his face. "You're still busy being this loser's body guard?"

"This '_loser_' is my best friend!" Kairi glares up at Riku with her hands on her hips.

Riku scans her challenging stance up and down before muttering sarcastically, "Cute."

Kairi pouts at him angrily.

Shaking his head at them, Riku turns around and walks off coolly just like that.

Sora and Kairi sigh with relief.

Meanwhile, Riku bumps into another silver-haired guy by his shoulder as he's walking off, expecting the other guy to move out of the way, but he doesn't.

"Step out of my way next time freak!" Riku snaps at the guy, shoving him away violently at the lockers before leaving.

The silver-haired guy against the locker glares at Riku's back hatefully, a dark aura surrounding him.

Sora, witnessing the whole thing, sighs heavily. "When will Riku ever learn…?" Quickly, he rushes over toward the guy Riku has just shoved.

"Hey there!" He greets cheerfully, trying to distract him from glaring at Riku.

The silver-head turns around slowly to look at Sora with a blank expression.

"You're… Zexion, right?" Sora asks friendly.

Zexion nods silently, a wary expression on his face.

"Don't mind Riku Yoshida, he's always moody," Sora tries to explain for Riku. "And I heard his parents just got divorced…"

Zexion continues staring at Sora blankly.

"Uh… So…" Sora rubs the back of his head awkwardly. "Take care… okay?" He smiles at him a little before turning around to leave, that's when Zexion's eerie voice stops him.

"I wish he'd die."

The brunette freezes, wide-eyed, before turning around to look at Zexion, appalled. "You… don't mean that… right?"

Zexion doesn't reply, instead, he walks off silently, ignoring him.

Sora stares worriedly at Zexion's departing figure.

_**Birthday Party at Xion's house…**_

It's already nearly midnight, and Xion's party has just ended.

Xion is walking Roxas out; almost everyone has left her house already.

At the doorstep, Xion smiles at Roxas shyly as he turns to say goodbye. "Thanks for coming," she tells him softly.

Roxas smiles back at her sheepishly. "Uhm… N-No problem. I had a very good time… And I like your parents, they're cool."

Xion blushes. "Thanks."

_Awkward silence._ Both of them are gazing at the ground nervously.

"I loved your gift the most!" Xion exclaims while looking up suddenly. "I-I love making accessory…it's my favorite hobby. And the accessories kit you got me is just perfect…"

"G-Glad you like it," he grins, and then starts turning around to leave. "W-Well good night."

She nods at him, grinning back. "Good night!"

He only takes one step away when Xion's voice stops him short. "How come the guy I like never asks me out?" Xion mumbles quietly to herself with a sigh, staring at the ground dejectedly.

Roxas turns around quickly to stare at her in shock, wide-eyed, inwardly wondering if he's heard right. "Wh-What?" He chokes out.

"Oh, I'm just thinking out loud to myself!" Xion explains hastily with a playful smile, quickly shaking her hands in front of her.

Roxas nods slowly, turns around to leave once more, stops, and then firmly turns to face Xion again. "Maybe… it's because he's always seen you in a relationship with other guys… so he never had the chance."

Xion blinks slowly with surprise, but then smiles widely. "Well… now it's his chance…" She tells him eagerly. "Because I'm not in an any relationship at the moment…"

Roxas stares at her for some time, speechless.

Eventually, Xion loses her patience, frowning. "Never mind, I'll see you at school…" She turns around hurriedly to go inside.

"Wait!" Roxas stops her quickly by grabbing her hand. Xion turns around with wide open eyes, startled, and then gazes down at his hand on hers and blushes shyly.

"H-Hm?" She looks up at him nervously, blushing even harder when Roxas stares determinedly right into her eyes.

"A-Are you free Saturday night?" He asks her hurriedly, beginning to blush himself.

Slowly, Xion breaks into a wide, elated smile.

"Yes!"

-X-X-X-

_**Present time, Two years later**_

_Twilight Town, Namine's House_

Naminé is sitting on her bed when suddenly; she hears the sound of their doorbell ringing downstairs.

"Who could it be...?" She wonders quietly.

As she steps down the top stair, she notices her father, Cloud, putting his hand on the doorknob to open the front door.

Her eyes widen in surprise when she recognizes their visitor.

"K-Kairi?"


	16. Namine's Feelings

Chapter 16

**PRESENT TIME**

_After school, Dinner time, Sora's house…_

Sora enters their kitchen to find Roxas eating dinner at the table with his parents.

"Hey…" Sora greets his family casually.

"Hey son," Squall greets back coolly while eating. "You're late."

"Uh, I had to stay late for basketball practice," Sora tells them as he pulls out the chair next to Roxas. "There's a big game coming. We have to be prepared and stuff."

"Is it after or before your school's Halloween party?" Squall asks.

"Before," Sora answers him.

"Your dad and I will come to cheer on you," Rinoa says with a smile while eating, and then looks over at Roxas, "You will come too, Roxas, right?"

"Sure," Roxas shrugs.

"Whatever happened to that girl you always talk about… What's her name…?" Squall turns to ask his wife.

Sora cringes, almost choking on his food.

"Naminé?" Rinoa and Roxas reply at the same time.

Sora coughs loudly, repeatedly smacking his chest to save himself from choking. Roxas is smirking mischievously in the background.

"Yeah, Naminé!" Squall exclaims. "Whatever happened between you and her son?"

"Wait a minute, but aren't you going out with Selphie?" His mother asks at the same time.

Sora doesn't reply, instead, he gulps down his water quickly, obviously nervous.

"Why won't you tell your parents about her already?" Roxas questions curiously, quickly catching Squall's interest without noticing. "Didn't Kairi tell you earlier about the whole Selphie thing being just an act? What's stopping you from hooking up with Naminé already?"

"I-It's not that simple," Sora pouts at the table.

"So let me get this straight… You and Selphie aren't really dating?" Squall raises an eyebrow.

Sora nods.

"It was just an act?" His mother asks.

He nods again at her this time.

"I knew it…" His father sighs tiredly. "You and Selphie have always been just friends."

"And what about Naminé? You've never introduced us to her... why sweetie?" Sora's mom asks softly.

"_Because… _Naminé isn't like the others… she's… she's not very good at dealing with people…" Sora tries to explain.

"Shy?" His mom asks with a smile.

"Kinda…" Sora grins weakly.

"When is she coming back to school?" Roxas asks curiously.

"I dunno… I hope she's better though. The last time I saw her is when… y'know," Sora tells his cousin quietly, blushing slightly.

"You've never visited her again after that?" Roxas asks.

Sora shakes his head silently.

_Silence._

"So she's shy, huh?" Squall says suddenly, smirking. "The complete opposite of you."

Sora's mom smiles. "I think it's a good thing. His personality will rub off on her hopefully. He'll be good influence… isn't that great?"

"I want to meet her parents though," Squall mutters, making Sora sweat-drop at the thought of him meeting Cloud. He dreads their alliance.

"Her mom died a few years back," Roxas tells them quietly, having known all these facts from Sora.

Sora's mom gasps, covering her mouth. "Oh the poor thing! Were you trying to help her Sora? You're a very good boy… I'm so proud of you!"

"At first," Roxas says suddenly while looking at Sora. "I thought you were annoying. But then, in a short span of three days… the wall between us somehow collapsed completely. And even at school, I noticed how liked you are everywhere… I knew why of course:" He pokes Sora's forehead abruptly with a mischievous smirk. "You're. Too. Nice! And it makes me sick!"

"Ow! Quit poking me!"

Roxas chuckles amusedly. "You're such a girl…"

Squall stops eating and stares at them sternly all of a sudden. "What is with you, you two? First you're each other's worst enemies, then you wake up best buddies, and these days I see you act like… like… _this_?"

"This?" Sora blinks at his father dumbly.

Roxas chuckles one more time at his cousin's cluelessness while standing up to leave. "I'm going to my room."

"YOUR room?" Sora turns around swiftly to follow his cousin, glaring at him. "It's MY room!"

Squall sighs, shaking his head, while his wife sweat-drops at them.

_Upstairs, Sora's room…_

"You know Roxas…" Sora tells his cousin who's lying on his mattress just below Sora's bed. "Before I thought I'd be glad when you finally get your own separate room. But now when I think about it… I think I'm gonna miss you! I don't have a brother or a sister, I'm a lonely child, but now I finally feel what it's like… it's a great feeling!"

"…"

"How about you stay in my room permanently?"

"…"

"I'll let you sleep with me on my bed!"

"You know that sounded so wrong…" Roxas finally speaks, giving Sora an odd look while trying hard to suppress a grin.

Sora's grin becomes huge. "You're grinning!" He exclaims giddily, pointing an accusing finger at his cousin.

"Shut up…" Roxas quickly stares at the ceiling, trying desperately to suppress a chuckle.

Sora laughs out loud heartily at his reaction, causing the blond to glare at him irritatedly.

"Night Rox!"

"Whatever…"

-X-X-X-

_Earlier, just after school, Naminé's Room…_

"I like your room…" Kairi, sitting next to Naminé on her bed, says suddenly after a long moment of awkward silence since Naminé has led her here. "It's so… white."

"Wh-White is my favorite color…" Naminé replies nervously, fidgeting with her white pajamas.

"I like pink!" Kairi exclaims giddily, giggling a bit while motioning down at her pink dress and boots. "Obviously!"

Naminé smiles back at her politely.

_An awkward silence again._

"Um… S-So… Why did you com—"

"Right!" Kairi exclaims suddenly, startling the poor blond. "I'll get straight to the point: I came here to talk about Sora."

"Oh…" Naminé looks down shyly at her lap all of a sudden.

Kairi watches her expectantly.

Slowly, Naminé looks up to stare at Kairi in the eye. "K-Kairi… I-I think Sora likes me."

Kairi stares at her blankly for a good long minute before bursting out laughing. "YA THINK! He's crazy about you!"

Naminé face turns cherry red.

"I-I'm sorry!" Kairi says quickly after she's stopped laughing. "But it's so obvious!" She hits the back of Naminé's head playfully. "I can't believe you're that dense!" Naminé pouts cutely at Kairi while rubbing the back of her head. Kairi giggles. "Just like Sora..."

"But it's cute on you. So innocent…" Kairi adds, smiling warmly at the blond, who shyly smiles back in return.

"So! Tell me!" Kairi exclaims suddenly, edging even closer to a startled Naminé, their knees are pressed against each other now.

Namine blinks at her slowly. "Tell you what?"

"How do _you_ feel?"

_Silence._

"I've always denied it…" Namine begins quietly, placing a hand on her heart, "But in my heart, I know… I've always liked that person…"

Kairi stares at her intently, waiting for her to continue.

"That person saved me… His smile made me alive again. Because of him, I was able to find my own smile again…"

"Wow…" Kairi smiles softly. "That is so sweet…"

"And when he kissed me, I was sure. This feeling is true. I-I do like him."

"That… is the cutest confession I have ever heard!" Kairi gasps. "Why don't you tell him? Make your move before another girl snatches him away! You know how popular he is!" She urges her.

"But… Sora… He has Selphie," Naminé looks at the red-head confusedly.

"You do know that the Sora and Selphie thing isn't even real, right?" Kairi asks, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

Naminé's eyes widen in shock. "Wh-What…?"

"It's a plan we made up to make Sora realize something… long story!" Kairi tells her sheepishly, shaking a hand in front of her dismissively.

Namine nods slowly, feeling greatly relieved inside.

Kairi puts her hand on the blonde's supportively. "You have to come to school tomorrow, Naminé. You can't hide forever. It's time you make Sora yours. Claim your prize!"

Naminé sweat-drops. "N-No… I can't!" She retorts in horror at the thought of making Sora's zillion fangirls and admirers her enemies.

"Don't worry Nami! I will be there for you! Just stick with me… Nobody can get hurt if they stick to Kairi!" She winks playfully, causing the blond to smile in despite of herself.

"Umm… Kairi?"

"Yes, BFF?"

"Promise me you won't tell Sora anything!"

"Sure," Kairi shrugs, smiling. "I prefer it you tell him yourself anyway!" Then suddenly she exclaims, "Hey! Let's do something fun!"

"Alright," Naminé smiles. "Umm… do you want to listen to some songs?"

"Sure!"

-X-X-X-

_The next day, Early morning, Twilight High, the Lockers area…_

"Where's Riku?" Sora asks Kairi as soon as he gets there.

"He has an appointment with the dentist today, won't come," Kairi tells him quickly, smiling.

"Poor Riku…" Sora makes an appalled face. "I hate dentists. They're evil. They lure you in with a lollipop… and they LIE! They took away my precious tooth from me! AND IT WAS _FINE_! I SWEAR!"

"Sora, how many times did I tell you this? They have to pull out a few extra ones when it comes to braces. Thank God you already got rid of them; they made you look dorky…" Kairi says, chuckling.

"Whatever, I still think they're evil!" Sora crosses his arms, pouting childishly.

Kairi shakes her head before looking around once more.

Sora eyes her curiously. "Are you looking for someone?"

"Uhh… Yeah, I am actually," Kairi answers him distractedly.

"Yuffie?" Sora guesses.

Suddenly, Yuffie pops up out of nowhere. "GUYS! I HEARD FROM THE FANGIRLS THAT THE PRICK WENT TO THE DENTIST!" She screams nearly in one breath, beating Selphie's record.

"Yuffie!" Sora and Kairi exclaim with surprise, startled.

"SO? IS IT TRUE?" She stares at them with big, wide anticipating eyes.

"Erm… Yeah," Kairi answers her, sweat-dropping.

"YES! FEEL THE PAIN PRICK! FEEEEEL THE PAAAIIIN!" Yuffie cries elatedly before cackling like a witch.

"Er, actually, he just went to get his teeth whitened…" Kairi says, sweat-dropping again.

"Damn!" Yuffie mumbles dejectedly before turning around and teleporting to God knows where. Sora and Kairi sweat-drop, then turning her head around, Kairi finally spots her target.

"Naminéeee! Over here!" She cries giddily, waving at the blond who just walked into the lockers hallway from the distant.

Sora's eyes almost bulge out at the sight of her. "N-Naminé! Y-Y-You're waiting for Naminé?" He cries, panicking.

Kairi ignores him and skips toward the blond, pulling her into a friendly hug. "Good morning girl friend!"

"G-Good morning Kairi…" Naminé is smiling shyly as they pull back.

"You hang out with us from now on, y'hear me?" Kairi yells at her playfully.

"I promised I will, didn't I?" Naminé replies, smiling a bit wider.

Kairi grins back. "Come over here! I bet Sora can't wait to see you!" She takes the blonde's hand and turns around toward hers and Sora's lockers.

Sora is nowhere at sight.

"Huh?" Kairi looks around them confusedly. "Where did that idiot go?"

Behind her, Naminé sighs with relief.

Swiftly, Kairi turns around to glare at her. "Why are you sighing with relief?"

Namine panics. "I-I… I'm just not ready to see Sora yet…"

Fortunately for Naminé, the bell rings before Kairi can pressure her anymore.

"Sadly, since we have different classes, this is where we have to part…" Kairi sighs.

Naminé sighs sadly too. "Oh… you're not in all my classes…"

"But Sora is!" Kairi reminds her, smirking.

Naminé's eyes widen in horror, making Kairi laugh.

-X-X-X-

_Sora's and Naminé's first class, English…_

"NAM-NAM!" Selphie exclaims as soon as Naminé steps into the classroom. "Sora spoke to me about it! I'm sorry for causing you trouble! But it's all over now!" She winks playfully.

Naminé blinks at her slowly. _"Nam… Nam?"_

In the background, Sora notices Naminé come in and panics, quickly pretending to read his book, but he is actually hiding behind it.

"Do you want your old seat back, Nam-Nam?"

Naminé glances warily at Sora behind Selphie to find him busy with his book and sweat-drops. _"He's obviously trying to avoid me…"_

"Um… N-No, i-it's okay," Naminé replies with a friendly smile.

Selphie looks at her confusedly. "Are you sure? Don't you want to sit next to Sor-Sor?"

Naminé shakes her head quickly and hurriedly goes back Selphie's previous seat, and then ignores looking at Sora during the entire class.

-X-X-X-

Avoiding him has gone on smoothly until the lunch break. Kairi is determined to drag her with them to their usual lunch table in the cafeteria.

"N-Not this time Kairi…" Naminé tells her at the lockers, shaking her head at the offer. "I… I have stuff to do."

"Really? What?" Kairi asks curiously.

"Um… School work," Naminé replies nervously, looking around them to see if Sora is anywhere at sight.

"Is that the truth…? Or you just don't want to go because Sora will be there too?" Kairi studies her carefully.

"I-It's the truth!" Naminé lies, staring down at the sketchbook between her arms.

Kairi sighs defeatedly. "Fine… I'll let you off just this once."

"Thanks, I'll see you later Kairi!" Naminé says before hurriedly turning around and leaving.

"Later…" Kairi says, but the blonde's already gone. "Wow… She's fast!" Kairi gasps with amazement.

"Hey Kairi…"

Turning around, Kairi comes face to face with Sora.

"THERE YOU ARE!" She yells angrily. "WHERE THE HECK DID YOU DISAPPEAR TO EARLIER?"

"I-I went to talk to Selphie like I promised I would…"

"REALLY?" She narrows her eyes at him suspiciously.

"Really…"

"You mean you _weren't_ trying to avoid Namine?"

_Silence._

"…Okay, maybe I was too!" Sora confesses, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"I KNEW IT!" She sighs exasperatedly. "So what did Selphie say?"

"She was cool with it. I think… she already moved from Riku…" Sora sweat-drops.

Kairi shakes her head. "See, I told you... Selphie's fickle! I wonder who's her crush now…"

"Who knows…"

Suddenly Kairi glares at him. "And _why_ are you avoiding Naminé exactly?"

"I-It's hard to explain…" Sora ruffles his hair frustratingly with one hand. "And hey… Since when did _you_ become her best friend?" He looks up at Kairi suspiciously all of a sudden.

"Since I went to her house yesterday…" Kairi replies casually.

"You WHAT?" Sora stares at her in disbelief. "Y-You went to her place?"

Kairi nods casually.

"A-And you met her dad?"

"Of course!"

He sweat-drops. "Scary isn't he?"

Kairi shakes her head slowly, shrugging. "No… actually, he's very nice."

"HAH! I knew it!" Sora points at her accusingly."YOU'RE LYING! YOU _DIDN'T_ GO TO HER HOUSE!"

Kairi smacks the back of his head like usual abruptly. "IDIOT!"

"So are you lying or telling the truth? Which is it?" Sora asks her while rubbing his head and wincing.

"Who knows…?" Kairi shrugs.

"Kairiii… tell m—"

Suddenly, Yuffie pops up again. "Naminé!" She exclaims at them excitedly.

"Naminé?" Sora pales. "Gotta go!" He turns around and dashes off in the speed of light.

Yuffie gawks at him before turning to Kairi. "I was going to say that Naminé came back to school…" Then she breaks into a suggestive smirk. "Someone's anxious to see his girl again!"

"Yeah, uhm… actually…we know," The red-head smiles at her. "And he's trying to _avoid_ her."

Yuffie blinks confusedly. "That guy doesn't make sense…"

"Since when does _Sora_ make sense?" Kairi says before they start laughing at him at the same time.

-X-X-X-

_School Hallway, Still Lunch Break…_

"I-I have to hide somewhere…" Naminé mumbles to herself as she's walking through the hallway, looking around her nervously every two seconds.

_At the other side of the school with Sora…_

"Obviously I can't go to the rooftop, there's a ninety five per cent chance she'll be there!" Sora calculates the situation to himself out loud as he is sneaking around the hallways like a spy, earning a few sweat-drops from the students around him. "And I can't walk around the hallways endlessly… There's a high chance the _fangirls_ will find me!"

_With Naminé…_

"I better hide in the less likely place anyone could find Sora at!" Naminé thinks to herself with determination.

_With Sora…_

"GOT IT!" He exclaims suddenly, as if a super brilliant idea has just invaded his mind. "I will hide in the less likely place anyone can find me!"

_Sora & Naminé…_

"The library!"


	17. Axel's Evil Chakrams!

Chapter 17

_Earlier the same day, Axel's apartment…_

"AXEEEL! WAKE UP, IT'S TIME FOR SCHOOOL!"

"I just friggin' slept Mom!" Axel yells back in annoyance, burying his head further into his pillow.

"It's not my fault you slept at five in the morning!" The voice retorts annoyingly.

Axel groans when he hears footsteps marching toward his room.

"And who you're calling _'Mom'_?" The voice asks incredulously, now standing at the doorway of Axel's room.

The red-head abruptly lifts his head off his comfy pillow a bit to confirm who's just invaded his room.

Standing there is Demyx wearing a girly pink apron with hearts imprinted on it over his school uniform, carrying a frying pan in his hands for some reason, and staring back at his best friend casually.

"…" Axel stares at him gapingly for a long minute, speechless.

"Hurry up and get ready for school Ax!" Demyx says cheerfully, turning away from Axel's room and walking back toward their kitchen. "We're having pancakes for breakfast!"

"I'm burning that apron..." Axel mutters to himself darkly as he drags himself out of bed.

The red-head seems to have forgotten earlier that he and Demyx have lived together alone in this apartment for a while now. It's all because Axel's parents work abroad, and since they're a very open-minded and easy-going family, they've allowed Axel to stay in Twilight Town and to live and fend for himself, but they do send him monthly allowance, letters and gifts regularly though.

As for Demyx, he has more than ten little brothers and sisters, and when he's suggested to his parents moving in with his best friend Axel, they've approved without any hesitation. You can probably guess why.

_A couple of minutes later…_

Axel walks into the kitchen lazily, stretching his arms high above his head before yawning loudly.

"Good morning sleepy-head!" Demyx greets him cheerfully from behind the kitchen counter as he is setting up their plates.

"Just finish the damn pancakes, housewife. I'm starving!" Axel mumbles sarcastically as he slumps down on the nearest chair.

"Oh!" Demyx looks up suddenly, as if he's just remembered something. "There's a package that came this morning! It's addressed to you!"

Axel perks up curiously. "Where is it?"

Demyx points at the couch in the living room – which is connected to the kitchen, since it's a very small apartment – with his frying pan.

Axel hurries there curiously, and finds the package lying on the couch. Quickly, he picks it up and starts tearing off the wrapping madly to find a plain box with a card stuck on it. He pulls off the card and throws it behind him carelessly, only interested in the box, thinking it's just another boring mushy letter from his parents.

Anxiously, he opens the box…

"What did your parents send you this time Ax?" Demyx asks curiously, coming to stand behind Axel with his frying pan still in his hands.

Axel gawks down at his 'gift', not even hearing Demyx approaching behind him.

"What?" The blond watches his friend's expression confusedly before crouching down beside him to see the gift himself.

There, lying inside the box, are two red pointy chakrams.

_- A/N: Axel's weapon in the game! XD_

"Umm… Axel? Why did your parents send you weapons?"

Axel shrugs then carefully picks up one of the chakrams, examining it in awe.

"Maybe they want you to kill someone with it!" Demyx guesses before gasping dramatically. "Your parents want you to be a criminal!"

"Demyx, shut up and grab me the card! I threw it around here somewhere…." The red-head places the chakram back in the box and starts searching the floor around him for the card.

"You mean this card?" Demyx asks innocently, holding up a card he's found lying under him.

"Yeah, that one! Read it out loud for me!"

"Umm… It says... 'Open the box. Don't forget to open the box. You have to open the box. Set the gift free. You want to open the box. So open the frigging box already! Love, Grandma.'…Aaand that's it," Demyx reads it out loud casually before placing it down with a perplexed expression. "Whoa! That's one creepy memo!"

Axel blinks repeatedly, a doubtful expression on his face. "My… _Grandma_?"

"It's weird huh… why would your _Grandma_ send you a weapon?" Demyx ponders seriously in awe.

Axel freezes abruptly, wide-eyed. "Wait, WHAT THE HELL? My _Grandma_? My Grandma is DEAD and ROTTEN man! Are you sure you read it right? Give it to me!" He picks up the card quickly and reads it himself silently before dropping it in shock. "N-No way man! Th-This is bullshit! MY GRANDMA IS DEAD AND IN THE GRAVE!"

"Maybe… MAYBE SHE SENT IT _FROM_ THE GRAVE!" Demyx concludes…'cleverly'.

"Dem, use your brain for once in your friggin' life and don't let me hit you with that frying pan of yours! THAT WOMAN IS _DEAD_! DEAD FOR _GOOD_! SHE CAN SEND NOTHIN'!"

"Then how—"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Axel yells at his face irritatedly, a burning aura surrounding him.

"Calm down, Ax… Maybe she's actually alive somewhere and you didn't kno—"

"I KISSED HER FRIGGIN' COLD FOREHEAD IN HER FUNERAL DEMYX… AND I EVEN WATCHED THEM _BURY_ HER AFTERWARDS!"

Demyx gulps loudly after a moment of eeriness. "Dude, this is spooky…"

"When did that old hag send this?" Axel asks angrily all of a sudden as he is pacing around the room panicky.

Quickly, Demyx checks the information on the package. "Three days ago…" The blond tells him.

Axel freezes again, paling. "SHE DIED WHEN I WAS _SEVEN_!"

"THAT'S LIKE…" Demyx tries counting with his fingers. "Darn… I don't have enough fingers!"

"THAT'S LIKE _ELEVEN_ YEARS AGO!"

Demyx stares at him in horror. "Dude… this is _really_ spooky!"

"And that's her handwriting alright…" Axel notes quietly.

"D-Did you do something to your Grandma before she died that… upset her?" Demyx asks his friend in an eerily quiet manner.

Axel scratches his chin, thinking…

_Flashback, five year old Axel with his Grandma.._

"Come heeere my Axelicious! Granny wants to kiss youuu!" Axel's Grandma approaches him with wide open arms and pouty ready-to-smooch lips.

A five year old Axel steps back in horror, sweating, his eyes are only fixated at his Grandma's wrinkled lips as they lean in toward his face to kiss him.

"EW!" He pushes her back roughly all of a sudden, unable to take it anymore. "STAY AWAY FROM ME YOU UGLY OLD HAG! YOU HAVE _COOTIES_!"

_End of Flashback_

"Nope!" Axel shakes his head innocently. "I was an angel!" He claims with a devilish smirk.

Demyx sweat-drops, knowing his childhood friend too well. "Right…"

"Hey, how about we forget all this alright? It's… It's probably just a prank or something," he checks his watch. "Anyway, we better hurry to school man. We're later than usual."

"Alright… But what about your… um, gift?"

"Hmm… Let's take it with us just in case! Y'know, maybe throw it at our substitute teacher of the day for fun or something!"

-X-X-X-

_Twilight High, Schoolyard…_

Walking side-by-side casually toward the school building, the duo – Axel and Demyx – are studying the chakrams Axel is holding in his hands with wonderment.

"They actually look kind of cool!" Demyx tells Axel suddenly, referring to the chakrams.

"Yeah…" Axel agrees, holding up the Chakrams in front of him. That's when he spots Selphie walking just ahead of them.

"Shit, it's _'it'_!" Axel panics, smacking the blond's arm.

"SELPHIE?" Demyx yells too loudly after he spots her too, cringing.

"Shut up or _'it'_ will find us! The last thing we need is _'it'_blah blah-ing at us this early in the morning!" Axel hisses at his friend through gritted teeth, quickly looking elsewhere.

"AAAXEEEL! DEEEMYYYX!"

They glance at the direction of the voice calling them to find none other than Selphie waving at them before skipping toward their direction.

"Too late," Axel sighs.

"Goooood mooooorniiiing!" Selphie greets the two cheerfully, smiling from ear to ear.

"Ah. Morning," The two boys reply in a robotic manner at the same time.

_Silence._

Selphie keeps staring from one to the other with this 'creepy' beaming expression on her face. Axel and Demyx glance at each other side-ways, both stares shouting: **'RUN!'**

"SO!" She exclaims abruptly, startling the poor stiff boys. "Do you guys have a date for the Halloween Party?"

Axel nudges Demyx quickly before whispering to him, "Dude, she's going to ask one of us to be her date for the party!"

Demyx gulps nervously. "H-How do we say 'no' nicely?"

"Let me handle this!" Axel tells him quietly before turning back to Selphie.

"Selph…" The red-head begins calmly.

"Yeah?" Selphie blinks at him expectantly.

"Both of us already_have_ dates…" He puts a hand over his heart, a fake apologetic expression on his face. "Sorry, but we're very high on demand y'see! It's not only you, love. We had to reject lots of other good offers too…" He pretends to sigh sadly while resting a hand on his partner's shoulder. "...Right Demyx?" Axel turns to Demyx, winking at him to play along.

"Y-Yeah! Lots!" The blond affirms, quickly nodding like an idiot to emphasize it.

"Oh…" Selphie looks down sadly, her shoulders slumping. "Rikku will be so sad…"

They freeze, gaping at her.

"Rikku? Did you just say Rikku? You mean the extremely hot and sexy blond chick named Rikku? Th-The same Rikku that's part of our school music band… that Rikku?" Axel asks the brunette anxiously.

"Yup!" Selphie replies cheerfully. "Very same one!"

"Wh-What's she got to do with this?" Demyx asks.

"I was going to ask one of you to be her date for the dance! But too bad… you already have dates!"

Axel and Demyx freeze again, a dumb expression on their face as they mentally start cursing themselves with the worst swearing words they can think of.

An oblivious Selphie blinks curiously at the chakrams in Axel's hands. "Oooh! What's this?" She reaches out to touch them.

"H-Hey!" Axel tries to pull them away from her but she manages to snatch one from him anyway. She examines it closely, 'ooh-ing' and 'aah-ing' at it.

"What IS this?" Selphie finally asks, unable to identify the weapons.

"It's a weapon." Axel answers patiently. "Can I have it back now?"

"Oooh! A WEAPON!" She breathes out in awe. "What KIND of weapon?"

"Never mind, you wouldn't kno—"

"I WOULD!" She pouts at him cutely before looking down at the weapon in her hands. "Hmmm… It's a… Uhh…"

The two boys sigh tiredly, "Give it back already, Selph—"

"I KNOW!" She exclaims suddenly. "IT'S A BOOMERANG!"

They sweat-drop simultaneously.

"Right, right… a boomerang," Axel replies hastily with an impatient sigh. "Now can I have it ba- What the hell are you doing with it woman?" Axel cries frantically all of a sudden as Selphie prepares to the throw off the chakram in her hand as it is a boomerang.

"I wanna try it out!" Selphie replies to him casually.

Axel breaks into an incredulous smirk. "It's impossible, love. That thing is made out of pure iron! It can't possibly fl—ah ah ay!"

Abruptly, Selphie throws the chakram as if it is an ordinary boomerang, and surprisingly, it flies high up in the air like one.

Axel's and Demyx's jaws drop as they watch it flying further and further away into the sky.

"Wow! That was fun!" Selphie exclaims giddily, clapping for no reason. "Bye now!" She turns around and skips off toward the school building just like that.

"It flies!" Demyx exclaims, pointing at the chakram that's still soaring through the air.

"This defies logic…" Axel utters quietly with a perplexed expression. "I don't know what to believe anymore!"

"Or maybe Selphie is just REALLY strong…" Demyx suggests, nodding.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Axel chuckles lightly, shaking his head in disbelief..

They turn their attention to the flying chakram.

"Umm… Axel? When does it plan on landing?" Demyx asks curiously. Axel shrugs unknowingly beside him.

All of a sudden, the flying chakram changes its course, turning back to where it took off, and aiming straight at the two boys. Axel and Demyx's eyes widen in shock, and for some reason, they don't even try to move out of the way. The chakram zooms in at them. _Finally_, at the last minute, Axel and Demyx decide to move out of the way.

Axel merely steps out of the way while Demyx turns around and runs for it. Shockingly, the chakram is still intent on hitting its target, twisting and turning to every direction Demyx makes stubbornly until it eventually catches up and strikes poor unfortunate Demyx square on his back.

"OOF!" Demyx falls down forward face-first on the ground.

"Wicked!" The red-head gasps in amazement.

"Awww… M-My back…!" Demyx moans from pain, struggling to stand back up.

"If only Yuffie was here to see this!" Axel says, smirking amusedly.

"HEY GUYS!" Like usual, Yuffie pops up out of nowhere in front of Axel, grinning from ear to ear.

Demyx finally manages to stand on his feet again, quickly nudging Axel with his elbow. "If she asks us about the party – we'll say yes this time!"

"Dem, it's me we're talking about… Axel. A.X.E.L, got it memorized? I'm not desperate! I can get _any_ girl to be my date for the party! Watch!" Axel hisses quietly at the blond before turning back to Yuffie with an over-confident smirk stretching on his lips. "Yuff, love, how about you become Axel's date for the Halloween party?"

"No," Yuffie replies bluntly.

Demyx snickers in the background as Axel's confident smirk disappears instantly.

"But we have something—"

"_Had_!" She corrects him. "And it was just one date Ax."

The smirk finds its way back on Axel's lips. "Aah! I get it! You like that fag, what's-his-name… the one who was spying on our date?"

"RI— I-I MEAN _PRICK_? HA! HE WISHES!" Yuffie blushes slightly while kicking at the ground nervously. "B-By the way, have any of you seen Prick somewhere? I set up the PERFECT prank for him today!"

Axel and Demyx shrug unknowingly.

"We just got here…" Demyx reminds her before wincing a bit from pain while holding his back.

Yuffie raises an inquisitive eyebrow. "What happened to _you_?"

"OH! THAT REMINDS ME!" Demyx exclaims suddenly before turning to Axel. "YOUR GRANDMA'S GIFT TRIED TO KILL ME!"

"Huh? Axel's Grandma tried to kill you?" Yuffie blinks at them, confused.

"Oh right…" Axel perks up, lifting his hand up to stare at the other chakram. "The chakr—" He freezes, realizing that he has just lifted up air – there is _nothing_ in his hand.

"I'm confused…" Yuffie states quietly.

"Wh-Where the hell did it go?" Axel asks anxiously, staring at his empty hand in disbelief. "I was holding it the entire time!"

"What about the other one? The one that hit me?" Demyx asks panicky.

They search all around the schoolyard frantically for them – especially the spot where Demyx has gotten targeted – but to no avail. It's gone. Both chakrams are _gone_. Just like that.

"Oookaay… I'm gonna go now!" Yuffie tells them, sweat-dropping when she notices Demyx looking under a pebble for what they're searching for.

As soon as Yuffie leaves, a red blur tackles Demyx's butt abruptly as he's crouching down, looking under another pebble. "AW!" Demyx looks up instantly, rubbing his butt where it hurts. "WHO SMACKED MY BUTT?" He glares at the passing students around him dangerously.

Suddenly and without warning, the chakrams appear in front of him, descending out of nowhere from the sky and zooming in straight down at his face. He stares back at them dumbly then – BAM! He gets hit on the forehead this time and falls backwards on the ground.

"DEMYX!" Axel runs to his partner's side and then picks him up from his collar and starts shaking him roughly. "You're alive, aren't you?"

"I-I _was_ before you started shaking me!" Demyx yells, feeling dizzy.

"Sorry man!" Axel says apologetically, dropping the poor blond back on the ground.

Demyx starts yelling hysterically as soon as he gets up on his feet, "What are we going to DO? THOSE CHAKRAMS ARE OUT TO KILL ME! THEY'RE PROBABLY PREPARING ANOTHER SURPRISE ATTACK AS WE SPEAK!"

"Th-This chapter is crazy!" Axel mutters to himself

The blond coughs loudly in the background.

"I-I meant this whole _chapter of our life_!" Axel explains quickly. "Argh…you know what? Screw the chakrams. Let's go in already! Roxy must be waiting for us!"

-X-X-X-

_Twilight High school building, lockers area…_

As Axel and Demyx walk toward their lockers, they start hearing… interesting things around them.

"A-Axel… Look!" Demyx points at Marluxia's – one of the students – body sprawled about on the floor in front of them. They keep going, skipping over his fallen body.

"What happened to Pinky?" Axel asks, smirking amusedly down at the pink-head. "Jocks bullied you for being a homo again?"

"Red… Blur…" Marluxia wheezes out painfully from where he's lying, startling the duo. "Then… All…Black…!"

Hurriedly, Axel and Demyx speed walk out of the scene, looking around them warily every two seconds.

All of a sudden, someone gets slammed violently onto the locker on their right hand side just in front of them.

"Ouch! That must've hurt!" Axel winces, smirking. "It's the girly loser Vaan! He always gets bullied!"

"But no one is there…" Demyx blinks around them confusedly.

"Blur… Red… Blur…! AAAAAHHH!" Vaan screams hysterically, and then slowly, he slips down the locker and drops dead on the floor. Well, not really dead, but you get the picture.

Axel and Demyx gape at him.

"I don't want to go to school anymore!" Demyx sobs suddenly, losing his nerve.

"Let's ignore this… It's all in our head, Dem… All in our head… All in our head…" Axel keeps chanting to himself breathlessly as he marches off as fast as he can to reach their lockers, Demyx trailing behind him, chewing at his fingernails stressfully.

"A-A-Axel, a-are you sure you didn't upset your Grandma in any way before she died?" Demyx stutters, his eyes shifting all over the place nervously.

Axel stays silent for a while, thinking…

_Flashback, six year old Axel with his Grandma…_

It's Axel's very first Parent-Teacher Conference in primary school. He's very anxious to see his parents. But instead, he notices his Grandma coming.

"Ooh, there you are Axy-poo! You look _so_ _adorable_!" She ruffles his hair, and then pinches his cheek too hard.

Little Axel pouts at her, irritated.

"Well, come on sweetie! Your teachers aren't waiting for us forever!" She takes his hand forcefully and starts dragging him.

He pulls back his hands violently. "WHAT? I DON'T WANT _YOU_! I WANT MY PARENTS!"

"Aww, I'm so sorry Sweetie! Your parents are too busy and couldn't make it!" She pulls Axel into a forceful hug, sympathizing with him.

He pushes her away quickly. "NO! I WANT MY PARENTS! I DON'T WANT _YOU_!" He yells stubbornly.

"Why Sweetie? What's wrong with Granny?"

"GRANNY IS UGLY AND ANNOYING! I DON'T WANT MY FRIENDS TO SEE YOU!"

_End of flashback_

"Hell yeah I'm sure! I was the perfect example of a loving and respectful Grandchild!" Axel claims with one of those devilish smirks of his.

"Whatever you say…" Demyx murmurs, rolling his eyes in disbelief.

_Finally, their lockers…_

"Where have you two been?" Roxas asks demandingly as soon as they reach him. "You're later than usual!"

"Hiya Roxy!" Axel salutes his friend coolly.

"H-H-Hey Rox…" Demyx says nervously while scanning around them for any sign of Axel's chakrams.

"You guys missed out a lot! Just earlier, Mr. Vexen, our Biology teacher, tripped and fell down the stairs. It was epic!" Roxas tells them, grinning.

"Hahahaha! How I regret not seeing THAT!" Axel laughs hysterically and wipes a tear from his eye.

"H-How did he trip?" Demyx asks carefully all of a sudden, already making a guess in his mind.

Roxas shrugs a bit. "I don't know… But as he was being carried to the nurse office, he started mumbling something about a 'flash of red blur'…" The shorter blond shakes his head. "Poor guy! He must've hit his head pretty hard!"

Slowly, Axel and Demyx turn to glance at each other horrifically.

"What?" Roxas blinks at them confusedly.

"N-Nothing!" Axel quickly replies and then changes the subject. "Hey Roxy, where's your cousin?"

Roxas shrugs. "Probably running from his fangirls."

"H-Hey guys! I-I think I saw something red fly over us just now!" Demyx yells panicky, ducking behind his locker door. "THE CHAKRAMS ARE SCOUTING THE AREA FOR ME I TELL YOU!"

"…" Roxas sweat-drops. "It's amazing how you and my cousin are so much alike…" He mumbles to himself quietly, before turning to ask the red-head. "What's up with him this time?"

"It's a long story…" Axel says, sighing.

"W-We better tell him Ax!" Demyx tells the read-head grimly. "HE NEEDS TO BE WARNED!"

"…" Roxas sweat-drops again.

"I guess you're right… Who knows, those things might target _him_ next!" Axel replies to Demyx, nodding.

Turning back to Roxas, Axel begins by saying, "It all started when Axel – that's me – received a package that we _originally _thought it's from my parents…"

Roxas stares at them patiently as they tell the story; he's used to his friends' antics and crazy adventures.

"BUT!" Demyx yells suddenly for dramatic effect. "It turns out that it's from… HIS GRANDMA!"

"Wow… What a twist," Roxas mutters sarcastically.

"…THAT DIED TEN YEARS AGO!" Demyx finishes even more dramatically, staring into Roxas' eyes spookily.

"Eleven years ago," Axel corrects him calmly.

"Right! THAT DIED ELEVEN YEARS AGO!" Demyx repeats again with the same expression.

"…"

"And the creepy part, it said on the package that it was sent _three days ago_…" Axel tells Roxas eerily.

"AND THAT'S NOT ALL!" Demyx exclaims suddenly. "GUESS WHAT HIS GRANDMA SENT HIM? A _WEAPON_!"

"Yeah! A pair of red chakrams!" Axel adds, emphasizing with random hand gestures.

"…"

"And now they're out targeting people!" Demyx concludes loudly, a dead-serious look on his face.

_Silence._ All the while, Roxas keeps staring at them blankly, resisting the urge to laugh out loud at the silliness of it.

"B-By targeting you mean…?" Roxas asks calmly just for the fun of it.

"Ambushing them out of nowhere!" Demyx answers quickly, all worked-up. "Like the first thing you see is a flash of red blur and then – BAM! YOU GET HIT!" He finishes dramatically.

"Er… You do realize that objects can't move around by themselves right?" Roxas asks calmly.

All of a sudden, two flying red objects come out of one of the corners. The three gape at them as they hover over their spot for a while, and then, without warning, soar quickly toward the trio's direction.

The friends watch helplessly as the chakrams zoom in at their target: Demyx.

Demyx turns around at the last minute and runs down the hallway, screaming, "RUN, RUN AWAY!"

He turns behind the corner, only to be followed by the chakrams, of course. Mysteriously, the students around him are completely oblivious to what's happening.

"Does this answer your questions?" Axel asks Roxas sarcastically.

Roxas gulps loudly before replying, "P-Pretty much!"

All of a sudden, they hear Demyx scream, "D-DON'T COME NEAR ME! NO! P-PLEASE! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER! No… _NO_! AAAAAAHH!" _Loud thud_. _Silence_.

Axel and Roxas freeze, glancing at each other sideways in horror.

"Why are they so intent on targeting Demyx?" Axel wonders out loud, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"D-Did Demyx do something to your Grandma before she died that might have… upset her?" Roxas asks quietly.

Axel shuts his eyes, trying to remember…

_Flashback, six year old Axel and Demyx with Axel's Grandma_

Demyx is visiting Axel's house to play, just like the many other times he's used to before. They're tight childhood friends.

As Axel opens the front door to his house to welcome Demyx in, the first he notices inside is Axel's Grandma, who has a green anti-aging cream plastered all over her face, and a creepy big smile directed at poor little Demyx.

"Hi there Demylicious! You look _so adorable_! Why, I feel like gobbling you all up!" She grins. Her yellow cracked teeth showing.

Demyx stares at her wide-eyed in horror before screaming at the top of his lungs, "AAAAAAAHHHH! _OGRE_!" He turns around swiftly and runs off, shouting, "RUN, RUN AWAY!" Then once he reaches the sidewalk, he screams hysterically some more, "MOMMY! THE OGRE WANTS TO EAT MEEE!"

_End of Flashback_

"No, none that I can think of…" Axel replies, shrugging, "In fact, they were practically in love with each other!"

"Then why…?" Roxas frowns, trying to think of a reason.

"Wait a minute!" Axel exclaims suddenly, freezing as if he's just experienced an epiphany. "I think I get it now!"

"Huh?" Roxas blinks at him confusedly.

"The chakrams… They target a specific type of people!" Axel smirks, nodding to himself. "Yeah… it all makes sense!"

"Not to me, obviously…" Roxas sweat-drops.

"Alright, listen – the people who got targeted so far are: Demyx, Marluxia, Vaan and Vexen right?"

"Okay…"

"What do all those people have in common?"

Roxas shrugs unknowingly.

Axel sighs exasperatedly before stating loudly, "THEY'RE ALL FAGS!"

"…"

"Don't you get it? That thing is, in actuality, a _fag exterminator_!"

"Demyx is not a fag…" Roxas points out, sweat-dropping again.

Axel snorts. "He wears a PINK apron every morning… with _HEARTS_ all over it! It practically _screams_: FAG!"

"What about you? You wear make-up!" Roxas defends his friend, smirking a bit.

"THIS IS NOT MAKE-UP! IT'S _WAR PAINT_!" Axel yells angrily, pointing at it, "How many times did I tell you that?"

Roxas shrugs innocently, "Whatever you say…"

"And what about you?" Axel counters, "You're emo!"

"I am _not_ emo!" Roxas retorts defensively.

"And this is _not_ make-up!"

The blond shrugs. "Fine. We're even."

Meanwhile, Mr. Saix, one of their latest substitute teachers, is passing by them in the hallway while drinking from his favorite coffee cup calmly when all of a sudden, the chakrams come back and knock out his coffee cup from his hands in the speed of light, without him even noticing, causing it to drop on the floor and break into a thousand pieces, and then they – chakrams – land innocently at the other side of the hallway.

Roxas and Axel have witnessed the whole thing, and when Saix scans around him, thinking it's a student's doing, he spots them looking at him and quickly comes to a conclusion.

Saix narrows his eyes dangerously at the red-head, "You," he says eerily.

Axel blinks with genuine surprise. "Me? No, that wasn't me. Not this time at least…"

"YOU LIE!" Saix screams suddenly, startling them and all the students present in the hallway – maybe even the entire school. "THAT WAS MY FAVORITE CUP!"

"It's just a cup man… Get a life!" Axel replies carelessly, smirking.

"Ax, do you want to lose _your_ life?" Roxas hisses at his friend panicky. "That guy looks like a freakin' psycho!"

Saix glances at the chakrams lying on the floor before turning back to look at Axel. "You threw these, didn't you?" He asks; momentarily back to his calm persona.

"No man! These things attacked you by their own free will!"

"AND YOU DARE LIE AGAIN!"

"It's the truth sir!" Roxas backs him up, and then mumbles to himself, "No matter how unbelievable it is…"

"Yeah! Watch, I'll demonstrate!" Axel says before going for the chakrams and picking them up off the floor.

Saix raises an eyebrow at him incredulously.

"And now…" Axel begins, preparing himself to throw the chakrams. "Witness the true menace that is these babies!" Quickly, he throws them, one right after the other, as hard as he can. All of them watch intently as the chakrams fly for about merely two feet away, only to drop and lie harmlessly on the floor.

Axel and Roxas gape at the chakrams lying still on the floor, ever so innocently.

"No friggin' way…" Axel gasps quietly, clutching both sides of his head in total disbelief. "Th-They're messing with us!"

"No. _You're_ messing with _me_!" Saix says sternly, "Principle office. _Now_!" He points at the direction of the principal's office firmly.

Axel ignores him, glaring down at the chakrams dangerously. "You think you're smart don't you?" He yells at the two objects, causing Saix and the audience around them to sweat-drop. "Acting all innocent… Well you should know that you're not foolin' me. No sirree. I'm Axel! A.X.E.L. Got it memorized punks!"

"Axel!" Roxas hisses at his friend quietly to get his attention. "People are _watching_!"

"AAAAXEEEEL!" Saix screams madly all of a sudden, losing his patience. "PRINCIPLE'S OFFICE FOR YOU NUTCASE..._**NOW**_!"

Just when Roxas opens his mouth to defend his friend, Saix interrupts him immediately, "AND TAKE YOUR FRIEND ALONG WITH YOU!"

-X-X-X-

_Time skip, lunch break, hallway…_

"Damn those chakrams! Damn them to the pits of hell!" Axel curses angrily to his partner after finally getting released from detention.

"We missed the first three classes thanks to them…" Roxas sighs miserably. "If I fail in any of them, it's all you and your stupid gift's fault!"

"Fair enough…" Axel smirks a bit at the shorter blond, and then freezes, finally remembering a certain missing person. "I wonder what happened to Demyx…"

_Silence_.

"You don't think…" Roxas trails off eerily, wide-eyed.

Axel shakes his head quickly. "Nah…"

"Guys! I finally found you!" Demyx pops up out of nowhere in front of them Yuffie-style.

"Definitely nah…" Axel nods, smirking.

"Guys… I...I've decided something!" Demyx tells them seriously all of a sudden, a grim expression on his face.

They blink at him curiously because that expression _totally_ doesn't suit their friend.

"I'M TRANSFERRING TO ANOTHER SCHOOL AND NO ONE CAN STOP ME! NO ONE! NO ONEEE!" He declares to them hysterically, only to earn a smack on the head by Axel.

"DEMYX! Relax man!" The red-head yells at him.

"Yeah what happened?" Roxas asks worriedly.

"DO YOU EVEN NEED TO ASK? TH-THE CHA— No… I can't say their name… they might hear us…" He mumbles quietly. "TH-THE YOU-KNOW-WHAT! TH-THEY KEPT HUNTING ME DOWN FOR THE LAST THREE PERIODS!" He breaks out sobbing in his hands pathetically.

"Right… The cursed chakrams…" Axel sighs tiredly. "We gotta do something about them!"

"Objects being possessed by evil vengeful spirits…" A voice mutters quietly behind them.

They turn around swiftly to find Zexion – one of Twilight high's top students. A genius. And a total mystery.

"I think I know the solution to your problem," Zexion tells them, smirking sinisterly.

"What, what?" The trio asks him eagerly at the same time.

"It's in the library," Zexion replies silently before turning around and walking off coolly.

Axel turns back to his friends, saying, "Guys… I never thought I'd say this but… we're going to the library to do some reading!"

-X-X-X-

_The school library_

Sora finally makes it to the library, making sure to hide carefully behind random book shelves from stalking fangirls.

He sighs to himself with relief after he loses them. "Phew… Safe!"

Turning his head, he glances at the row of books at one of the shelves for a moment, only to find Naminé staring right back at him from behind a gap between the books.

"N-N-NAMINE!" He exclaims panicky, stepping back and almost knocking down few books behind him.

Naminé is staring at him nervously. "S-Sora?"

"N-Naminé!" Sora exclaims yet again, slowly regaining his composure.

"Wh-What are you doing here? In the _library_?"

"R-Reading… o-obviously!" He pulls out a random book from the shelf and reads the title on the cover out loud, "'The Truth About Sex And You'…" He freezes, wide-eyed, and then quickly tosses the book over his shoulder, blushing profusely when he tries to explain himself, "I-I'm not reading that! I-I swear!"

Namine bursts out laughing while clutching her stomach.

Sora pouts, blushing even harder. "R-Really! I-I'm not like that!"

Suddenly, his fangirls pop out of nowhere down the aisle. "THERE HE IS!"

"Crap!" Sora sweat-drops, and quickly makes a run for it…


	18. The Undestroyable Evil

Chapter 18

_School library…_

"Sora!"

"Spiky!"

"Sor-Sor!"

"What?" Sora turns around swiftly from his seat at one of the library's tables to glare back at his annoyer. Axel.

"If you got nothin' to do, help us look for our damn book!"

"I just barely escaped the fangirls… Give me a break…" Sora is panting. "I think the librarian doesn't like me anymore…"

"What were you doing in the library in the first place anyway?" Roxas asks suspiciously.

"I was… hiding from the fangirls," he half-lies.

"Oh really? I thought you were stalking Naminé like usual… I think I saw her leave the library in a hurry as we got in…" Axel says, making Sora cringe.

"That was her?" Roxas blinks with surprise. "She looks a lot like Kairi."

"And what are _you_ doing in the library?" Sora counters.

"Looking for a book," Axel tells him again with a raised eyebrow. "I just told you idiot! Man, Roxas was right. You are like Demyx."

"But what kind of book?"

"We're looking for any book which talks about evil vengeful spirits possessing objects!" Axel answers him casually.

"You looking for _what_?"

"What I said."

"For _what_?"

"It's a long story but I'll tell you it anyway… After all, you're a highly possible future target!" Axel says, nodding before telling him the story of his chakrams all over again.

Sora breathes out in awe, "Whoa… Spooky!"

"You… actually believe all this!" Axel exclaims in disbelief.

"Not really surprising," Roxas mutters quietly while sweat-dropping.

Sora nods slowly. "Yeah… I mean…some unexplainable stuff happened to me too… but no one believed me! So I totally understand!"

"Cool," Axel smirks, pleased. "You know, the world would be a better place if all people just _believed_!"

"So wise…" Sora smiles softly, closing his eyes while nodding in agreement.

Meanwhile, Roxas sweat-drops again in the background. _"Idiots…"_

"Hey guys!" They turn around to find Demyx coming toward them, carrying a book with him. "Look what I found!"

Axel takes the book from him and reads the title on its cover out loud, "'How to get rid of evil vengeful spirits'… Demyx, this is perfect!"

Demyx beams proudly before he, Roxas and Sora gather closer around Axel curiously as he opens the first page of the book to read it.

"Blah blah blah…" He flips through the pages quickly before stopping at a certain page that catches his interest. "There! Methods to get rid of them: One, seek a holy man!"

"Where can we find a holy man around here?" Demyx scratches his head confusedly.

"Mrs. Maleficent?" Sora suggests innocently.

"Isn't she a woman?" Roxas sweat-drops to himself.

"I always wonder sometimes too…" Demyx ponders out loud thoughtfully.

"MALEFICENT? Dude, are you _insane_? That woman is ANYTHING _but_ holy! She is friggin' Satan's _wife_!" Axel exclaims dramatically before turning back to look at the book. "Let's see number two…" He says before reading it out loud, "Practice exorcism…"

"What's _that_?" Sora asks curiously, a funny look on his face.

"Uhm… It's the process of freeing the person or object from the evil spirits…" Axel explains.

"How can we do that?" Demyx asks dumbly.

Axel reads the paragraph carefully before looking up, a big, devilish smirk stretching on his lips. "We have to _BURN_ it! OH YEAH BABY!"

-X-X-X-

_Twilight High, Rooftop…_

"Er… How did you catch them?" Sora asks skeptically as he glances at the chakrams placed carefully a meter of so away from them on the floor of the rooftop, surrounded by a pile of papers.

"Oh, long story… We had to use Demyx as bait, prepare an ambush…" The red-head shrugs innocently. "Of course, a sacrifice was made…"

Sora gapes at him in horror. "Where is Demyx? What happened to him!"

"I'm right here!" Demyx appears suddenly Yuffie-style from behind Axel, a few bruises evident on his face. Sora and Roxas sweat-drop.

Then, eerily, the boys glare sideways at the chakrams lying on the floor, afraid they'll move and attack them at any giving second.

"W-We better hurry Ax! Those things are extremely cunning!" Demyx says nervously.

"Alright! Leave it to Axel!" Axel says before pulling out a box of matches out of his pocket.

"You keep a box of matches in your pockets?" Sora asks incredulously.

"Yup! Everywhere I go!" Axel replies coolly, preparing to light it.

"Ax has always been obsessed about matches! When we were kids, I remember he burnt his Grandma's room with them…" Demyx tells Sora casually.

"And it's not a joke…" Roxas tells Sora while sweat-dropping.

Sora sweat-drops too. "No wonder she sent the evil chakrams after you…"

"Hey, that was an accident!" Axel retorts innocently, making Roxas and Demyx roll their eyes.

"I've been wondering what kind of person Axel's Grandma was like," Sora says suddenly.

Axel stops trying to light the matches to stare at Sora grimly for a while before speaking, "She was the worst creature you'd ever encounter in your entire life."

"A-Axel! Th-They're listening!" Demyx nudges the red-head panicky while pointing at the chakrams.

Axel continues carelessly though, "She smelled weird. She would never stop kissing and touching me, it was beyond disgusting! And she was… TOO friggin' _nice_! It sickened me! Thank God that old hag's gone now…"

Sora sweat-drops before mumbling, "I feel so sorry for Granny…"

"Alright… Let's do this!" Axel says excitedly before lighting up one of the matches and throwing them at the pile of papers around the chakrams. The boys watch as the fire starts consuming the chakrams.

"Burn baby BURRNN!" Axel exclaims with a satisfied smirk.

_Silence_. They watch in awe as the fire refuses to devour the chakrams.

"Umm… Axel? Why won't they burn?" Demyx asks quietly.

"M-Maybe they're fire-proof?" Sora suggests weakly.

"I-It's because they're made out of iron…Y-Yeah… Th-That's why!" Axel tries to convince himself, sweating nervously. "I-Iron doesn't burn easily!"

"But iron can't fly lightly as if it's a boomerang…" Roxas reminds him.

"Fine! Then they're probably made out of some… unknown material that has yet to be discovered!" Axel yells at him impatiently.

"I KNOW!" Demyx cries suddenly, startling them. "They're made out of PLASTIC!" He concludes…'cleverly'.

Axel, Roxas and Sora sweat-drop at him simultaneously.

All of a sudden, they hear a shrill woman's scream echo around them, scaring them out of their skins.

"Wh-What was that?" Sora exclaims, terrified.

"Unbelievable…" Roxas sweat-drops.

"I-It's the sound of the evil spirit of Axel's Grandma dying!" Demyx concludes dramatically.

Axel smirks with satisfaction. "I guess our plan worked then!"

Turning back to look at the chakrams, their eyes almost bulge out of their sockets when they discover that… they're _gone_. They look all around them frantically.

"Th-The fire is already out g-guys!" Demyx notes hysterically. "Wh-Where did they _go_?"

"M-Maybe they burned into nonexistence!" Sora guesses panicky.

"I think Sora's right!" Axel states quietly.

_Silence._

"S-So…" Sora begins, gulping loudly. "I-Is it over?"

_More tranquil silence._

"I think so…" Axel replies, shrugging.

_Sound of birds chirping serenely in the background._

"A-Are we safe?" Demyx questions out loud awkwardly.

"I _think _so…" Axel says, shrugging again.

Suddenly, the bell rings, signaling the end of the lunch break.

"Oh maaan!" All of them sulk at the same time, their shoulders slumping disappointedly.

-X-X-X-

_PE class, Gym…_

Riku has finally come back from his dentist appointment for PE class. The fangirls are overjoyed, squealing while swarming over him like bees as he talks to his friend before class starts.

"Missed me?" Riku asks his friends – Sora and Kairi – while smirking arrogantly.

"Just a little!" Sora and Kairi reply at the same time, grinning from ear to ear. Then quickly they hug both his sides and snuggle up to him like kittens. "Daddy's back!" They exclaim happily.

Riku laughs before looking down at them and smirking again. "Let go already! You're ruining my cool!"

They laugh before finally letting go and stepping back a little, grinning still.

"Where's Yuffie?" Riku asks suddenly, looking around them.

Yuffie pops up in front of them out of nowhere, collapsing to her knees while clutching both sides of her head and screaming dramatically, "**NOOOOOO**! THE PRICK IS _BACK_!"

"Looks like someone missed me terribly…" Riku says, his teasing smirk stretching at Yuffie.

She points at him angrily. "YOU WISH PRICK! _YOU FUCKING WISH_!"

Kairi sweat-drops and then looks around them, trying to find Naminé.

"Who you're looking for?" Sora asks curiously.

Kairi ignores him, spotting her target that has just entered the gym.

"Naminéee! Over here!" She waves excitedly at the blond. Grinning mischievously, Kairi turns around to look at Sora's reaction as Naminé hurries over to their direction, but then she notices that he's nowhere at sight.

"Where did that idiot escape?" Kairi stomps at the ground frustratingly, practically boiling from anger.

Namine sweat-drops. "M-Maybe he's with his other friends…" She suggests uncertainly.

Scanning the area around them, they spot Roxas hanging out with his friends: Axel and Demyx, but Sora is not with them. Or _anywhere visible_.

"Coward…" Kairi spits out angrily, murder intent burning in her eyes.

Namine sweat-drops nervously before trying to calm the red-head. "I-It's okay Kairi… I don't mind…"

Meanwhile, the coach blows the whistle, signaling the start of their PE class.

-X-X-X-

_PE class, Gym, Basket Ball court…_

This time – they're having a basket ball match again. The coach sees it as a chance to train part of his team members for the upcoming big game as well.

"HAHAHA! Sora is the captain of the LOSER team!" Yuffie laughs, pointing at him after the coach called out the names of the teams.

"Hey! Just because we have Selphie and Demyx in our team doesn't make us losers!" Sora retorts defensively.

Yuffie snorts. "EVERY team _Demyx_ was part of ended up losing! FACE IT STAR PLAYER! YOU'RE GOING DOWN IN YOUR OWN GAME TODAY! OUR TEAM WILL OWN YOU! BWAHAHAHA!"

Sora smirks at her mischievously. "Did you forget? The 'prick' is on _your_ team!"

"…"

"And I'm against you Sora, too…" Kairi interjects randomly.

"**NOOOOOOOOO**!" Yuffie bellows dramatically all of a sudden, falling to her knees. "I DO _NOT_ WANT TO BE ON THE SAME SIDE AS THE _PRICK_!" She whines loudly.

Riku smirks amusedly to himself in the background, only to receive a death-glare from Yuffie.

"What about you Nam? Which team are you in?" Kairi asks Naminé standing behind her.

Sora's ear perks up, but he still has his back to them, pretending to be distracted with Yuffie as she continues sulking.

"Um… I'm in your team," Naminé tells her, glancing at Sora quickly for any reaction.

Kairi giggles. "You're against Sora!" She giggles evilly some more. "Interesting!"

"We have Roxas in our team also," Riku points out indifferently. "Hope he's good."

-X-X-X-

_Just before the game, Sora's Team…_

"Demyx, Selphie… For the third time, remember – you have to keep bouncing the ball like this," Sora demonstrates with the ball in his hands. "and then score it in that basket over there!" He points at their rival's basket. "Get it? Not the other one, this one! Your enemy's basket!"

Demyx nods quickly like an idiot while Selphie is busy checking her nails.

"Oh my God! I _so_ need a manicure!" She tells herself casually, shaking her head at her nails.

"SELPHIE!" Sora snaps at her impatiently.

Selphie looks up at him innocently. "Yes Sor-Sor?" She asks sweetly.

Sora's left eye twitches at what she called him. He doesn't really like the nickname. "N-Never mind…" He replies quickly.

"There's no heat…" Axel says all of a sudden, shaking his head disappointedly.

"Huh?" Sora turns his head to gawk at him.

"You… Her," Axel points at them, one after the other, and then shakes his head disappointedly again. "There's no heat."

"What?" Sora asks dumbly, a funny confused look on his face.

Selphie steps up, pouting at the red-head angrily, "Hey! Sora and I have plenty of heat!" She pulls Sora from his arm and hugs it tightly, causing the brunette to sweat-drop troublesomely.

"Sorry, love… I just don't feel it!" Axel smirks at her 'apologetically'. "There's no reaction from the guy at all! Look, he even flinched when you touched him!"

Sora sends Axel a 'please-stop-it-I-beg-you' look. Axel merely smirks wider in return.

"H-He's just shy!" Selphie retorts defensively.

The fangirls in their team are practically seething with jealousy, glaring like hawks at them while emitting a dark aura in the background.

"No, love… He's not shy," Axel tells her, smirking even more evilly down at the alarmed Sora. "_He must be seeing another woman!_"

Selphie gasps dramatically – seemingly she has forgotten that their relationship has ended and it is not real – and turns her head to glare at Sora. "Is he telling the truth?" She hisses frighteningly.

Sora forces out a nervous chuckle at Selphie, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "D-Didn't I explain everything to you earlier?"

Selphie gasps dramatically. "Sora, you two-timer!" She slaps him across the face. Hard.

The fangirls gasp dramatically before exclaiming, one after the other, sometimes all at once:

"BITCH!"

"HOW _DARE_ YOU HURT OUR SORA?"

"DEATH TO THE BITCH!"

"Aww… Poor Sora-kun!"

"Soraaa! Let me kiss your cheek to make it all better!"

"STEP ASIDE! HE WANTS _ME_ TO KISS HIM!"

"Me! Me! Me!"

They start gathering around him and touching him everywhere, 'just to check if he's alright' while Axel sneaks out of the picture, smirking in satisfaction.

-X-X-X-

_In the midst of the game…_

Sora's team is surprisingly in the lead. Demyx and Selphie have followed his instructions precisely and their unexpected great performance is completely taking everyone off-guard. Not to mention, Sora, the star player in the school's original basket ball team, is on their side.

Riku's team takes a time-out.

"What are we going to do? They're _good_!" Kairi asks her team as they gather around in a circle.

"B-B-But… They have _DEMYX_ in their team!" Yufie cries with disbelief.

"Who's actually a very good player!" Kairi retorts at Yuffie.

"You underestimate Demyx…" Roxas sweat-drops. "He's actually Bipolar. The other side of him that you rarely get to see is perfect at everything he does."

"Wow…" Kairi sweat-drops too.

"Demyx and Selphie… they make a fierce combo," Riku mutters, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"S-Sora is pretty good too…" Naminé adds hesitantly.

"Sora should be our biggest concern! If he goes down, so will his team!" Yuffie says excitedly.

"I got it!" Kairi exclaims suddenly, startling her team. She turns to Namine with a big, impish smile on her face, "Nam, you will have to guard Sora!"

"Huh?" Namine blinks at her confusedly.

-X-X-X-

_Back to the game…_

_**The score**_

_Sora's team: 48_

_Riku's team: 56_

The tables shift. Sora's team is losing. No matter how hard he tries, Sora can't ignore Namine as she attempts at blocking his moves – and succeeding every time.

"Hey! Captain Spiky! Stop being soft on the girl, you're sickening me!" Axel – his teammate – yells at him from across the basketball court.

On the other side of the court, Kairi snickers at her plan's succession next to Riku. "See! It's working!" She cries happily.

"Heh, poor Sora…" Riku says, smirking at him from the distance. "He looks so helpless."

"It's the great power of love!" Kairi says, sighing dreamily while Riku sweat-drops beside her.

-X-X-X-

_**The final score:**_

_Sora's team: 66_

_Riku's team: 81_

Riku's team wins.

Kairi is dancing with victory when she notices Sora approaching her.

"Making Naminé guard me… That was your plan wasn't it?" Sora pouts.

"Yup!"

Sora stomps out of the court in annoyance, followed persistently by his concerned fangirls.

Naminé joins Kairi and they snicker together as Sora struggles, panting and out of breath, while trying to run away from his fangirls.

-X-X-X-

"PRICK SCORED MORE POINTS THAN ME!" Yuffie cries loudly from the center of the basketball court, sulking by herself. "HOW CAN THIS BE?"

"Yuffie, class is over. Go already!" The coach yells impatiently as he's leaving the gym himself.

"LEAVE ME ALOOOONE!"

-X-X-X-

_Lockers area…_

"Demyx! Hurry up or we'll be late for Psycho Saix's class!" Axel calls out to his friend as he is leaving for class.

"I'm coming!" Demyx yells back as he is struggling to open his locker. "I just need to open my stupid locker to get my books!"

Axel stops, sighing, and turns around. "THE LOCKER CODE!" He points out impatiently.

"OHHH! RIGHT!" Demyx smacks his forehead lightly.

Axel shakes his head again before leaving. "Can't believe this…" He mutters to himself as he's walking off.

Demyx finally manages to open his locker. Inside, he finds an unfamiliar box placed neatly at the center.

"Huh? What's that?" He blinks at it stupidly.

Curiously, he takes out the box and opens it. Inside the box he finds a card lying on top of another smaller box. He picks up the card and reads it mentally to himself:

_**We know what you did last lunch-break.**_

"Last lunch-break? What did I do last lunch-break?" Demyx blinks stupidly at it again.

Finally, he puts the bigger box and the card back inside his locker and focuses on the other smaller box. Anxiously, he starts opening it…

Inside, as expected... are two red pointy chakrams, glimmering mockingly at Demyx!

It took Demyx only three seconds to drop the box, turn around, and dash down the hallway, screaming, "YOU WON'T GET ME ALIIIVE!" crashing into the window at the end of the hall – even though it's the 2nd story – and jumping out in slow motion. Thankfully, he lands on the lawn… but it still hurts.


	19. Flashback: Part Two

**Note:****This is the past again.**

**Chapter 19**

It's a bright morning in Twilight Town. Riku Yoshida is walking coolly through the school hallway when he spots Kairi digging through her locker and stops just a bit behind her.

"Hey," he greets in a deep voice.

There's no response. The red-head continues digging through her locker, completely ignoring Riku.

"Hey Riku!" Yuffie and a random Riku fangirl greet back the silver-head loudly instead, suppressing the urge to squeal like fangirls at the sight of the person they admire.

Riku turns around and stares indifferently at the two hyperactive girls smiling widely at him. They look so Goddamn happy that it irritates him. He doesn't know much about those two, he only knows the fangirl's first name. _"Solana… was it?"_He wonders mentally.

Ever since he's transferred to Twilight Middle School – like most of his classmates from his previous school – and went away to live with his dad because of his parents' divorce, that girl has always followed him, proposing to give him a tour around the school and such. His first impression of her has been simply 'annoying'.

As for the other person . . . Riku has no idea who that is. Not that he cares anyway… it's just some student who has always loudly cheered for him from the sidelines during their team's Basketball practices and sometimes he's seen around hanging with the loser, Sora. _"Must be another fan," _he concludes carelessly.

Quickly, he turns away from them – they aren't worth his time – and focuses back on Kairi.

"Hey," a familiar happy-go-lucky voice is heard from behind them.

Turning around, they meet Sora's upbeat face coming toward their direction.

"Hey," Kairi greets him back cheerfully, smiling.

"Hey Kai, did you do our History assignment?" Sora asks panicky all of a sudden.

"You didn't do it? _Again_?" Kairi exclaims frustratedly.

"I-I was busy!" Sora excuses himself pathetically.

"Busy playing your new video game…" Kairi mutters, rolling her eyes skyward.

Meanwhile, Riku feels completely lost between them. And irritated. Really, really irritated.

"Whatever…" Riku mutters under his breath before walking off with what's left of his dignity.

"Riku! Wait!" Solana yells after the silver-head, who turns back to look questioningly and impatiently at her.

Sora and Kairi, at Solana's statement, turn around to blink at Riku with genuine surprise.

"Oh, Riku! Didn't see you there!" Sora says in a cheerful, carefree voice that irritates Riku even more, if possible.

"I didn't know that Riku transferred here with us…" Kairi says, genuinely surprised.

"I thought I mentioned that he did... we're in the school's basketball team together here too," Sora tells Kairi casually.

"So you guys were classmates?" Solana exclaims excitedly.

Kairi and Sora nod.

"Perfect! You have to tell me all about Riku!" Solana demands boldly.

Kairi and Sora sweat-drop while once again, Riku feels left out, even with the topic being about him.

"You are really annoying," Riku tells Solana coldly before turning back and walking off.

"Um… Sol—" Sora begins softly but gets interrupted by Solana herself.

"Alright," Solana exclaims suddenly while raising a determined fist in front of her face, startling the people around her. "I won't give up! I'll make Riku want to date me with my persistence and determination!"

Kairi and Sora sweat-drop, again.

"Girl… You're worth more than that," Kairi says with a twitching smile, but Solana doesn't hear her.

Sora, smiling wearily, finally notices the unusually silent black-head behind him and stares at her worriedly. "What's up, Yuff? You're being really quiet… Are you okay?" He asks gently.

Yuffie stares back at him quickly, startled. "O-Oh, i-it's nothing…" She answers nervously.

Kairi turns to look at her too, and asks, "Are you sure?"

"AHHH!" Yuffie suddenly screams, clutching her head and ruffling her boyish-cut hair aggressively. "I DON'T UNDERSTAND!"

The other three plus the people around them in the hallway stare at the black-head, wide-eyed, as if she's insane.

"Er… Yuff… are you really sure you're okay?" Sora asks softly.

"Why…" Yuffie mutters quietly to herself. "Why do I always get nervous and tongue-tied around him?"

The girls' eyes widen in shock while Sora still looks as clueless as ever.

"Around who?" The spiky-head questions confusedly.

"Yuffie…You… You like _him_?" Kairi asks quietly with disbelief, clearly referring to Riku.

Yuffie stares at the red-head like a lost puppy. "L-Like…? I-I don't know about that… I always thought I… I deeply admired him… He's like my idol! I want to be just as skilled and talented as him in basketball!"

"It seems as if you like him to me…" Kairi says, shrugging a bit.

"No!" Solana yells defensively at the red-head, clearly feeling threatened at the possibility of a rival for her love. "I-It's _admiration_… Yuffie just admires his talent in basketball since she's such a big fan of it herself." The shoulder-length black-haired Riku fangirl – Solana – narrows her sharp golden eyes intensely at the red-head. "You're reading too much into it, Kairi."

Kairi senses that Solana is silently telling her not to interfere and help Yuffie realize her own feelings for Riku, and frowns, not liking her already. Kairi's supreme source of joy is to play cupid, and no random bitchy fangirl is going to ruin her fun. Just as she's about to open her mouth to retort though, Sora speaks.

"Are you talking about me?" Sora asks suspiciously, wide-eyed.

"Someone please shut that idiot up …" Yuffie sighs deeply, looking away from the confused brunette.

"Speaking of you, Sora…" Kairi starts in a sneaky manner while turning to examine her friend carefully. "Have you hit puberty yet?" She asks abruptly, startling the spiky-head, who blushes profusely in an instant, automatically stepping back, but too bad for him, he's just trapped himself in front of his own open locker, with the girls blocking each side.

Solana giggles girlishly, examining the panic-struck brunette before saying, "You are so right, Kairi! Middle School is almost over, and Sora still hasn't hit puberty yet!"

"Well… he _has_ grown taller…" Yuffie states attentively, measuring Sora's height with her eyes.

"W-Why are you asking me a question like that Kai?" Sora cries desperately at the red-head, sweating bullets while trying to blend in with the open locker door behind him.

"We've known each other since we were kids Sor; you're like a brother to me! Besides, every guy," Kairi motions at the people around them in the hallway with her two hands. "…Has to through it some time! Nothing embarrassing about it!" She says with a giggle, waving a dismissive hand in front of her face.

"But the thing is… everyone _has_ already gone through it … except _you_," Solana says, looking at Sora. Kairi elbows her quickly to shut her up, not wanting Sora to know the fact that he's the only guy in the entire school that hasn't reached pubescence yet.

Suddenly, Yuffie reaches out and feels Sora's chest. "He's grown a few muscles!" She states out loud, gasping in awe.

Kairi and Solana blink with amazement, mouths agape.

"Soraaa…" Kairi drawls out mischievously, elbowing the humiliated spiky-head. "Are you working out behind my back?"

"N-No… I-It's because I joined the basketball team lately and the coach is makin—Stop touching me!" He yells at the three girls trying to get a feel of his chest and shoulder muscles. The girls giggle but refrain from touching him at last.

"This explains your growing fanbase…" Solana says suddenly, giggling some more.

"Fanbase?" Sora repeats dumbly.

"Yeah! Besides Riku's, yours is one of the most popular fan clubs!" Solana informs him excitedly before mumbling to herself quietly, "I think I will join that one too…"

"This is just like the ugly duckling story…" Kairi says with a dreamy sigh, patting Sora's back. "You're finally being recognized!"

"Hey! I wasn't ugly!" Sora retorts with a pout.

"Yes, you were!" Kairi retorts, "Back when you had your braces on…" She shudders at the old image in her head.

"Judging by how fast he's grown the past few months, I'd say that Sora would hit puberty any time soon…" Yuffie says while scratching her chin, still studying Sora's physique intently.

Sora sweat-drops. "Again at that...? I think I'll go hang out with the guys…" He says the last bit hurriedly before practically dashing off away from the girls.

"_I better get myself a guy best friend soon… girls are bothersome,"_ Sora contemplates with himself seriously as he searches the hallways for Tidus and Wakka.

-X-X-X-

Inside the Gym, Sora and Yuffie are having their PE class together, minus Kairi who has Algebra.

Inside the court, watching a basketball match from the sidelines, Yuffie turns excitedly to Sora standing idly beside her. "Isn't Riku awesome! Did you see that super cool move he just did? It was AWESOME! He's so _awesome_!" She turns back to cheer on said silver-head loudly. "SHOW'EM RIKU!"

The fangirls/boys around Sora start cheering ear-deafeningly after Riku manages to score magnificently once more. The spiky-head frowns to himself, annoyed of Yuffie's and everyone's constant appraisal for Riku and jealous of the fact that he's better at everything than him.

"Sora, aren't you in the school's basketball team too? Why aren't you out there?" Yuffie asks Sora loudly just so he can hear her through the noise.

"I'm a benchwarmer!" Sora blurts out bitterly.

"But why? You're so _good_!" Yuffie yells with disbelief.

"Don't ask me, ask the coach. He never gives me a chance to show myself!" Sora says a bit frustratingly, glaring at the coach giving instructions to their team's players in front of him.

Suddenly, as if feeling Sora's eyes on him, the coach turns to Sora swiftly and motions for him to come. "Sora, you're up next! Get ready!"

Sora's eyes widen in shock, mouth agape.

"It's your chance, Sora!" Yuffie tells him, squeezing his shoulders encouragingly. Sora nods, grinning widely at the black-head before heading into the game.

-X-X-X-

During the part of the game where Sora finally joins in, he shines greatly with his newly recognized basketball talent and earning the crowd's attention, of course . . .

"Sora Leonhart is so cool!" A fangirl breathes out dreamily.

"I know! He's like, _super_ adorable too!" Another replies.

"Is he single?"

"I don't know… But I've seen him around Kairi Kimura a lot though…"

"Nah, I heard those two are just childhood friends!"

"Phew!" His newly formed fanbase sighs with relief.

Yuffie grins proudly. "He's my friend!" She tells the crowd behind her like a proud mother before turning back to cheer on him. "GO SORA!"

Suddenly, the coach blows the whistle, signaling for them to stop. Class is almost over and he's giving them what's left of the time to get changed.

The team players and the crowd slowly go off to the lockers area. But when Sora and Riku pass by the coach, he stops them by commanding in a harsh voice, "You two stay. I need to have a word with you."

Sora's shoulders slump, troubled, while standing next to the apathetic looking Riku.

"Crap," The spiky-head curses quietly under his breath. "He looks really mad!"

"It's because of your lousy playing I bet," Riku says quietly, looking the other way as Sora sends him one of his comical death-glares.

"No way! I was awesome out there!" Sora retorts, pouting at his taller teammate. "It's probably _you_…" He says quietly with a mischievous grin.

"Heh…" Riku scoffs.

After the other students/players left the basketball court, the coach turns around swiftly and glares at them. "What is wrong with both of you? Have you two ever heard of the word 'team work'?" He scolds the two boys angrily.

Sora raises his hand, an innocent expression on his face.

"Yes Sora?" The coach asks impatiently.

"Was that a question or a statement?" He asks dumbly.

"Idiot," Riku mutters quietly under his breath, earning a side-ways glare from the brunette.

"What was that?" Sora narrows his eyes at Riku before pointing a finger at him and turning back to face the coach swiftly. "See! He has no respect for me whatsoever!"

"I only show respect to people who deserve it," Riku says with a hint of a smirk on his lips.

"Why you…!" Sora clenches his fist at the silver-head.

The coach sighs with frustration before yelling again, "Do you two have something against each other?"

They share a quick emotionless glance at each other before looking away and shrugging a bit at the same time.

"Whatever," Riku shrugs again, acting like his usual permanently-careless self.

"I'm hungry…" Sora says simultaneously, rubbing a hand over his growling stomach.

The coach sweat-drops before saying threateningly in conclusion, "I better see you two getting along next time… Or else."

Riku huffs silently before turning around and walking off coolly toward the lockers area. Sora sticks out his tongue at his back.

"Sora! Grow up!" The coach scolds him.

The spiky-head chuckles sheepishly at their coach, rubbing the back of his head.

Before Sora can follow after Riku to the boys' locker, the coach calls him back, "Wait, Sora! Come here!"

The brunette stops, looking back through his shoulders at the coach questioningly.

"I meant to speak with you alone…" The coach starts seriously all of a sudden before stepping closer to the brunette, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it gently. "Sora… you have confidence." The spiky-head looks up at his coach, puzzled, as he continues his speech, "There are people out there without it. People who have hidden potential that can never come out. But you do. You have it. You can't let feelings like jealousy of Riku overtake you! You're better than that!"

The brunette listens attentively, looking down a bit guiltily.

"Sora, I picked you for our team not because of your potential skill…But because you have a good heart!" The coach goes on, smiling fatherly at the brunette. "And a good sportsman must have a good heart. I believe with it, you can climb many heights."

"Thanks, coach," Sora says in a sheepish manner, smiling appreciatively at the older man.

"Be the better person and try to get along with Riku!" The coach says in an almost pleading voice, squeezing Sora's shoulder tighter. "If you two get along, I'm sure our team would be invincible!"

"So in the end… it's all about the team, huh…" The spiky-head sweat-drops, chuckling weakly to himself.

"Of course!" The coach laughs, letting go of Sora. "Now go and take your well-deserved shower son!" He shoos Sora off with his hand.

"Fine, fine…" Sora mumbles before heading to the boys' locker.

-X-X-X-

_Boys' locker…_

Sora enters the showers area only to find Riku coming out of it with a towel around his waist, and another he's using to dry his silver wet hair.

"_Alright Sora,"_ The brunette tells himself mentally with determination. _"It's your chance to try and get along with Riku!"_

"Uh, hey…" Sora starts nervously with a sheepish hand behind his head, earning the silver-head's curiosity.

"What?" Riku stops drying his hair with the towel and stares back at Sora coldly.

"_What should I say?"_ Sora thinks to himself panicky. _"Let's be friends? Nah, that's too cheesy… Doubt Riku would respond to that…"_

"Idiot," Riku mutters with annoyance all of a sudden before walking past the spiky-head.

"Hey!" Sora calls out hurriedly to stop him.

Riku turns back to stare at him through his shoulder with an impatient look on his face before asking in an irritated, but controlled voice, "What?"

"L-Let's be friends!" He says it anyway, having no other option in his mind.

"…" Riku stares at him emotionlessly for a couple of seconds.

Sora tries to maintain a friendly smile that makes Riku wonder even more how Sora's mind works exactly.

"What?" Sora questions Riku's silence with a dumb expression on his face.

Coolly and without a word, the silver-head turns around, gives the brunette his back, and walks off just like that.

Sora blinks confusedly for a while before rushing after the silver-head. "Hey, is that a yes or a no?" He asks persistently, peeking at the taller guy's face sideways.

"…"

"I'll take your silence as a yes!"

"No," Riku retorts calmly while reaching for his locker.

"Aw, come on! We've known each other since kindergarten!" Sora says with a pout.

Having had enough, Riku slams his locker shut before responding coldly, "And you've always annoyed me," He glares at the shorter male almost hatefully.

Sora chuckles lightly before saying, "Wow, I've annoyed you since way back then? It's so nice of you to still remember!"

"Hmph!" Riku snorts, looking away quickly.

Sora sighs deeply before resting his chin on top of Riku's open locker door.

"Riku, _my friend_," He starts mischievously. "Your efforts into trying to push me away are futile! I _will_ make you acknowledge me as one of your friends!" He declares, a playful grin stretching on his face.

Riku stares back at him again with a semi-perplexed look.

"You wait and see _pal_!" The spiky-head says determinedly before retreating for the showers.

"Annoying pest…" Riku mutters to himself irritatedly once the 'pest' is gone, frowning.

-X-X-X-

It's another morning in Twilight Middle school. Riku is walking coolly toward the school building, surrounded by his admiring fangirls like usual, when all of a sudden, Sora Leonhart's head pops up from among them.

"Excuse me, girls…" He tells the crowd of fangirls politely, struggling to make his way to Riku so he can walk beside him.

"It's Sora!" One of the fangirls declares suddenly before squealing.

"Soraaa! Good morning!" Another shouts.

"We saw you play yesterday!"

"You were awesome!"

"Thanks," Sora replies to them distractedly before turning back to smile at Riku, who glares at him coldly for a while before ignoring him and looking ahead.

"Hey Riku! G'morning!" Sora greets cheerfully, leaning his face closer to Riku's to get his attention.

"Leave me alone," The silver-head tells him harshly, shoving him to one side.

Sora grins at Riku goofily in return, stubbornly catching up and walking along side him the whole way.

-X-X-X-

For nearly the entire rest of the day, Sora keeps tagging along with Riku, talking nonstop. It has irritated Riku so much to the point that he's eventually exploded at Sora's face inside the gym's boys' locker.

"LEAVE ME ALONE OR I'LL KILL YOU!" Riku yells angrily while pulling Sora from his collar to glare into his eyes intimidatingly.

Sora stares at him silently for a while, startled, before breaking into one of his idiotic grins. "But we have so much in common! We're connected in a lot of differ—"

"WE'RE NOT!" Riku bellows at the brunette's face, shaking him a little. "YOU AND I ARE LIKE THE LAND AND THE SKY – WE CAN NEVER CONNECT ALRIGHT!"

Sora winces at his volume, staring at the silver-head blankly for a moment before replying softly, "You're wrong, Riku…"

Riku is tempted to scream at Sora's face again but he controls himself and waits for the shorter male to continue, glaring at him intensely.

"Land and sky are connected!" Sora finishes calmly before grinning idiotically at Riku again.

"…" Riku stares at him blankly for a while before muttering, "Why do I bother..." He lets go of Sora's collar, and exits the lockers room in a huff.

Sora stands there for a couple of seconds, as clueless as ever. "What did I do?" He mumbles to himself confusedly while scratching the back of his head.

-X-X-X-

It's after school and Sora, Tidus and Wakka are exiting a video-game store. They've just bought a new video game and they're planning to play it at Tidus' house – where they're heading now.

As they're walking by the sidewalk, Tidus pulls the video game out of the bag and stares at it in awe. "I'm so freakin' excited!" He exclaims excitedly to the other two trailing behind him.

"Calm down ya?" The red-head tells Tidus jokingly, smiling.

Sora merely grins at his friend's hyperactivity, his hands supporting the back of his head as he walks casually after the other two.

"We're soo lucky that one of your fangirls' relatives works at this store and saved us a copy! Otherwise, they probably would have sold out ages ago!" Tidus continues, referring to Sora.

The brunette smiles a bit sheepishly, but stays silent. It's unusual for him, but that's only because he has other important thoughts crossing his mind at the moment . . .

"_I wonder if Dad already found last night's chocolate cake that I hid carefully in our fridge…"_He wonders deeply to himself.

"You always buy from here don't you? Ahh… Having lots of good connections must be so convenient, huh? Lucky bastard…" Tidus mutters the last bit enviously, sending the brunette a quick glare back through his shoulder.

"I don't…usually buy from here," Sora replies honestly all of a sudden. "Actually… this is my first time!" He tells the blonde with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Why?" Tidus asks confusedly. "I mean that fangirl of yours… she has connections here, you could—"

"Nah…" Sora shakes his head quickly, pouting at the idea. "I don't like using people…"

"Are you an idiot?" Tidus exclaims frustratingly. "Who would pass a golden opportunity like this?" He turns to Wakka swiftly, an incredulous look on his face. "Can you believe this guy?"

"Sora's got a point, bro," Wakka replies calmly, smiling a little at his friend.

"You guys are nuts!" Tidus exclaims, shaking his head with disbelief. "If it were me, I'd have dated the girl dammit! She's cute and she has some useful connections, what more could ya ask for?"

Sora shakes his head at the blonde's back. "That's just wrong… Like any other girl, she probably wants to be with someone who _likes_ her."

"Why don't you date her then ya?" Wakka proposes casually all of a sudden at Sora.

"Huh?" Sora stares wide-eyed at Wakka.

Suddenly, Tidus stops walking and turns to face his two friends swiftly, startling them. "That's a great idea Wakka!"

"Wait a minute—" Sora begins but gets interrupted by the blonde.

"Seriously Sora, why don't you date the girl? She's cute, and she obviously likes you!"

"Er… I don't like her _that_ way…" Sora explains awkwardly to his friends.

Tidus and wakka sigh exasperatedly at the same time.

"We almost forgot that Sora is scared of girls…" Wakka tells Tidus in a casual manner, grinning playfully at the brunette.

"I am not!" Sora objects in the background, pouting, but gets ignored.

"Yeah… But who could blame'im? He's still a _boy_… y'know what I'm saying?" Tidus winks at Wakka mischievously, snickering.

"H-Hey…" Sora blushes a bit, pouting deeper at the two and starts walking a little bit faster. "Kn-Knock it off, guys…"

Tidus catches up, leans in and studies Sora's face for a while before asking him bluntly all of a sudden, "Are you gay?"

"Huh? No!" Sora replies, blinking confusedly at Tidus.

"Then how come we never see you with a girl ya?" Wakka asks suddenly after catching up and trailing behind Sora and Tidus.

"Besides Kairi," Tidus adds quickly.

"It's just that…" Sora begins awkwardly, sweat-dropping at the prying looks Tidus and Wakka are giving him. "N-None of them interest… so far…" He mumbles quietly.

"He is gay," Tidus tells the red-head beside him conclusively while pointing a finger at Sora.

"I AM NOT GAY OKAY?" Sora yells a bit too loudly, earning a few giggles from a group of girls passing by them at the sidewalk, who have happened to overhear him.

Tidus and Wakka snicker quietly to themselves while Sora stares down at ground in embarrassment, his face turning cherry red. "It's all your fault!" He hisses angrily at his two friends, causing them to laugh louder.

Suddenly, as they start silently walking toward Tidus' place this time, Sora spots Riku practicing by himself in the neighborhood's local basketball field by the park.

Normally, Sora would ignore him and move on, but not this time. Not after he's convinced himself that he'll win Riku's friendship no matter what.

Quickly, he tells his friends, "Guys! I… I'm going to get us pizza!"

Tidus and Wakka glance at each other confusedly before looking back at him. "We can order on the phone when we get home," Tidus tells him casually.

Sora takes a quick look at Riku, to check if he's still there or not. Sure enough, Riku is still there, practicing his shoots. Sora then looks back at his friends. "So what do you want me to get you guys?" He asks, ignoring Tidus' suggestion.

"Pepperoni!" Wakka answers giddily.

Meanwhile, Tidus curiously looks at the direction where Sora kept glancing earlier and notices Riku. He sweat-drops and turns back to Sora with a weary expression on his face. "You're ditching us for Riku, aren't you?"

"N-No! Riku and I aren't even friends; he despises me! You know, earlier, he yelled at me really angrily, it's the first time I saw Riku that angry. Where did you see Riku anyway?" Sora blabbers quickly, pretending to look around them, nervous.

Tidus and Wakka sweat-drop again but then begin turning around to leave. "Get me some chicken wings!" Tidus tells Sora loudly through his shoulders while walking off.

"Sure," Sora tells them quickly before waiting until they disappear behind the corner, and then heading to where Riku is.

-X-X-X-

"Hey Riku," Sora greets casually as he's approaching the silver-head.

Riku – who was bracing himself to aim the ball in his hands at the basket – stops midway and glares exasperatedly at the intruder.

"Even out of school… you haunt me," Riku mutters tiredly.

Sora chuckles a little before suggesting challengingly, "One on one?"

"Leave me alone or I'll kick your ass for real this time," Riku warns dangerously.

Sora isn't intimidated though; he calmly smiles back at Riku before saying, "What's the matter? Scared?"

"Only an idiot like you would fall for that kind of provocation," Riku counters, smirking mockingly.

Before Sora can retort, a group of silver-headed guys enter the court, marching quickly toward Riku with a clear malicious intent in their eyes.

"Riku!" One of the silver-heads – standing in the middle – calls out with a sneer. "Nice to see you man!"

"Kadaj," Riku narrows his eyes carefully at him.

One of Kadaj's followers, the short-haired one, snickers to himself while the other smirks silently in the background.

Meanwhile, Sora blinks curiously at the intruders. He knows Kadaj and his followers; they are seniors in Twilight High. _"What are they doing here? And what do they want with Riku?" _Sora wonders to himself.

"What are you doing here?" Riku asks coldly.

Kadaj's expression turns from a sneer to dark and intimidating. "You know exactly why we're here," He tells Riku quietly.

"Think we didn't know?" The short-haired one at Kadaj's right yells sobbingly. "How could you bully our poor little brother you monster!"

"Don't cry, Loz," The long-haired one at the other side of Kadaj says softly.

"I'm not crying!" Loz snaps at him angrily, quickly wiping out the tears threatening to fall. "Shut up Yazoo!"

"_Their little brother… Could it be…" Sora_wonders to himself thoughtfully, and then his eyes widen in surprise as he puts two and two together. _"Zexion!"_

**Flashback**

Riku bumps into a silver-haired guy on the shoulder as he's walking off, expecting the other guy to move out of the way but he didn't.

"Step out of my way next time freak!" The silver-haired guy against the locker glares at Riku's back hatefully, a dark aura surrounding him.

Sora, witnessing the whole thing, sighs heavily. "When will Riku ever learn…?" Quickly, he marches toward the guy Riku just shoved to the lockers.

"Hey there!" He greets cheerfully, trying to distract him from glaring at Riku.

The silver-head turns around slowly to look at Sora with a blank expression.

"You're… Zexion, right?" Sora asks friendly.

Zexion nods silently, a wary expression on his face.

"Don't mind Riku Yoshida, he's always moody," Sora tries to explain for Riku. "And I heard his parents just got divorced…"

Zexion continues staring at Sora blankly.

"Uh… So…" Sora rubs the back of his head awkwardly. "Take care… okay?" He smiles at him a little before turning around to leave, that's when Zexion's eerie voice stops him.

"I wish he'd die."

The brunette freezes, wide eyed, before turning around to look at Zexion appallingly. "You… don't mean that… right?"

Zexion doesn't reply, instead, he walks off silently, ignoring him.

**End of flashback**

"Heh…" Riku shakes his head a little. "Just like that wimp to send others to do the dirty work for him!"

"What's going on...?" Sora asks confusedly, looking from Riku to Kadaj as they shift themselves to a combat-ready stance.

"_Oh no…"_The brunette thinks worriedly to himself as even Loz and Yazoo ready themselves to fight Riku. _"This is bad… three against one? And they're high school seniors too! Riku must be either mad or having a death wish…"_

"You with him?" Loz asks Sora suddenly, nodding his head at Riku's direction, startling the brunette and snapping him out of his thoughts immediately.

Sora puts his hands in front of him in defense. "U-Uh, not really," he replies hurriedly with a weak grin, sweat-dropping.

Loz shares a glance with his companions before shrugging and then focusing back on Riku.

Just before a fight ensures, however, Sora rushes to stand between the two sides.

"Hold it!" He yells at Kadaj and his gang, standing in the way in front of Riku.

"What is this Shrimp doing here?" Kadaj asks sneeringly, examining the brunette skeptically.

Riku closes his eyes; for he knows that Sora is going to say something majorly stupid. Just like him.

"Er…" Sora utters nervously, his shifting about quickly as he tries to come up with a wise thing to say to stop this ridiculous fight. "Violence…" He begins softly before pausing again, thinking. "…Is not the answer," he concludes gravely, glaring at Kadaj in a way that is supposed to be intimidating.

Riku palms his face, muttering quietly against his hand, "I knew it..."

Meanwhile, Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo break out laughing.

"Hey… are you making fun of us… _Shrimp_?" Kadaj asks threateningly after he abruptly stopped laughing, pulling Sora closer to him from his shirt.

Riku is predicting that Sora will once again cower under the threat but what the spiky-head does next surprises him.

Sora's entire expression changes completely to an unusually serious and more convincing threatening one. "This is stupid," he says bluntly.

Riku tries to contain his urge to laugh at Kadaj and his brothers' shocked reaction.

"Fighting Riku will not solve anything!" Sora yells.

Kadaj's expression darkens as he says, "So you're on his side."

"I knew it!" Loz exclaims, pouting.

"Isn't he one of Riku's victims, too?" Yazoo says softly.

"Then why are you defending him?" Kadaj glares at Sora intensely, shaking him roughly once. Sora can see the confusion in his eyes. "Why are you defending a guy like that?" He yells at the brunette louder when he doesn't get his reply.

"What do you mean?" Sora replies calmly. "Riku is a good guy."

Riku's eyes widen a bit in surprise, but he still keeps his composed careless demeanor.

And then, suddenly, Sora's stomach growls a bit too loudly, causing everyone to sweat-drop. He puts a hand over it and giggles sheepishly. "Hungry," he states the obvious.

Kadaj's eye twitches angrily before he shakes Sora once again and shouts, "Just what are you?"

"_That's exactly what I'm thinking,"_ Riku thinks to himself with an inner smile. _"Sora has always… baffled me. I could never understand him…"_He closes his eyes gently and allows himself to recall a memory from the past that he has long forgotten . . .

**Flashback**

It was kindergarten, and Riku and Sora were kids sitting next to each other around one of the circular tables.

They had small sketchbooks and crayons in front of them. Everyone was busy drawing, except Sora, who disliked drawing because he wasn't good at it. He had his arms folded in front of him in a gesture of defiance, pouting to himself.

He got extremely bored eventually so he turned to Riku, who was deeply indulged with his drawing, and said cheerfully, "What's your name?"

Riku looked up from his sketchbook hesitantly to blink at Sora.

"You don't have a name?"

_No reply._

"You don't speak?"

_Silence._

"What are you drawing?" Sora asked curiously, quickly stealing Riku's sketchbook and taking a look at it before gasping in awe, his eyes lighting up. "A MONSTER?"

"No, that's a shark," Riku replied softly.

"Oh." Sora sat back in disappointment, pouting. "Boring!"

Little Riku took back his sketchbook calmly and started drawing again.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed abruptly. "Let's go look for monsters!"

Riku looked up quickly, seemingly excited for a second, but then his excitement disappeared for some reason and he calmly returned to his drawing.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked confusedly, blinking at Riku.

"My parents said monsters don't exist," Riku replied softly, a bit of bitterness in his voice.

"They lied!" Sora retorted quickly. Riku looked up and stared at Sora with shock.

"Parents always lie!" Sora told him with a cute pout, folding his arms in front of him in dissatisfaction. "Because they don't want us to ask questions! They think we're stupid but I know! I know they're lying! There are real monsters out there!" He held a clenched fist in front of them; complete conviction burning in his eyes.

"Really?" Riku's eyes lit up.

"Yeah!" Sora nodded with a big, idiotic grin on his face. "Mrs. Ann is one!" He pointed at their teacher, busy reading a book at her desk.

"Did you say something Sora?" Their teacher asked threateningly, looking up from her book.

"N-Nothing, Mrs. Ann!" Sora replied quickly before turning to Riku, whispering, "See! She has super hearing powers!" They snickered together, and a friendship – that unfortunately didn't last long – was formed.

**End of flashback**

Riku opens his eyes slowly, a hard-to-read expression on his face. He is brought back to reality, however, when he notices a beating occurring before him. Kadaj is going one-on-one against Sora, who is completely beaten-up and covered with bruises, while Kadaj is literally scratchless.

Riku's eyes widen in shock. How long was he daydreaming? Certainly long enough. Poor Sora isn't able to even get up anymore.

"Why don't you fight him you pussy?" Loz mocks, snickering as he watches Sora struggling to get up.

"Do you enjoy playing 'hero'?" Kadaj circles him with a sneer. "Going as far as saying, 'Beat me up instead'!" He shakes his head, smirking. "What kind of idiot are you?"

As he's about to launch another punch at Sora's face, suddenly, a hand clutches his midway. He turns to his side to find none other than Riku, glaring at him dangerously.

"The kind that doesn't stoop to the level of scum like us!" He says through gritted teeth. And with his right hand, Riku delivers a punch aimed at Kadaj's cheek, sending him staggering backwards.

-X-X-X-

Weakly, Sora opens his eyes and finds himself lying on his back on the hard ground of the neighborhood's basketball field.

He struggles to open his eyes, as he feels very tired and in pain all over. Faintly, in the distance, he's able to see Riku standing amongst three fallen and severely beaten-up guys like himself, groaning with pain. Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo.

Riku looks back to stare down at Sora blankly. "You okay?" He asks emotionlessly.

"Ye-Yeah…" He struggles to say before moaning in pain as he finds himself unable to pull himself up.

Riku looks at the ground and picks up something, then holds it up for Sora to see. "Is this yours?" It is Sora's cell phone.

Sora nods weakly. "I must have lost it when…" He stops, clutching his injured shoulder and wincing with pain.

Suddenly, Sora's cell phone rings, startling Riku a bit. The silver-head then calmly picks it up.

"Sora!" Tidus' voice can be heard. "Where the hell were you? We're getting hungry! When are you coming?" He asks quickly in one breath.

Riku's expression changes to that of annoyed. "Sora isn't coming to wherever you are. He's going back home," he tells him coldly.

_Silence._

"RIKU? What the hell are you doing with Sora's cell phone? Where's Sora?"

"Bye," Riku says calmly, reaching for the hang up button.

"WAIT! WHAT ABOUT OUR PIZZ—"

He hangs up on him abruptly, walks toward Sora and gently lifts him up on his back.

"Wow!" Sora breathes out in awe against his shoulder. "You beat them all by… y-yourself!"

"It was easy," Riku tells him coolly, smirking to himself and as he begins walking toward the direction of Sora's home. He knows it too well. It's not very far from his, after all.

"You're so… cool…" Sora says weakly, slowly losing conscious. "I'm… j-jealous."

Riku's smirk stretches. Sora is doing a nice job of feeding his infinite ego. _"He's… always happy, always grinning idiotically without a care in the world,"_ Riku thinks to himself deeply as he reaches the sidewalk. _"I might have… envied him because of his happiness."_

As Riku is carrying Sora on his back, walking toward his house, Sora starts talking in his unconscious state. "Vanilla…ice creaoomm…" He slurs faintly against Riku's shoulder.

Riku suppresses the urge to smile. "Idiot," he mutters but then staggers about, wincing. "Geez, you're heavy!" He complains. As he is looking back up toward the road, his eyes catch a glimpse of the sunset and he pauses, recalling something Sora's said earlier.

_"You're wrong, Riku…Land and sky are connected!"_

True, at that moment, in front of him, it looks like as though the sky is touching the land.

He smiles to himself and continues walking.

-X-X-X-

_Sora's House…_

Squall is pacing around the living worriedly, looking at his watch every few minutes. He has just heard from Tidus that Sora isn't at their place, and got worried. It isn't like Sora to not keep in touch with his family about his whereabouts. Rinoa, Sora's mom, is sitting on one of the couches, worried. But not as worried as Squall, who keeps asking her angrily every few minutes after he checks his watch . . .

"Where's Sora?"

"Why is he late?"

"He is late isn't he? I'll kill him when gets home!"

"Did you call him?"

"Where the hell is that boy?"

"Did you call him again?"

"Why isn't he picking up?"

Even though she doesn't have the answers to all his questions, he still keeps asking her them over and over again.

"I swear when he gets here I'll…"

Rinoa sweat-drops. "Squall—"

"Leon!"

"Leon, honey, relax," She tells her husband soothingly. "Sora is probably just fine!"

Squall doesn't look convinced one bit, though.

Rinoa sighs deeply, and then her eyes suddenly light up. "Perhaps… Perhaps he got himself a girlfriend!" She guesses optimistically.

Squall gives her a look. "Sora? Our Sora?" He tells her incredulously.

Rinoa pouts. "What's wrong with our son? He's handsome, sweet, well-behaved—"

"And a complete idiot," Squall finishes for her calmly.

Rinoa pouts deeper. "Like it or not, Sora is bound to charm a girl or two. Perhaps him and Kairi will start dating and –"

"Any girl that'll decide to date my boy will have to go through me first!" Squall says sternly.

Rinoa hides a smile at her husband's great love for their son.

"I'll make her go through a health check. See if she's insane or —"

Rinoa would have fell back anime-style if she isn't already sitting on a couch. "How can you say that about your own son?" She interrupts, glaring at her husband with disbelief.

He shrugs indifferently before checking his watch for the hundredth time.

Rinoa smiles suddenly to herself. "I get it! You just don't want to see your precious little boy leave the house, right?" She says before aww-ing.

Squall sends her a silent glare.

Suddenly, the front door bolts open and the sight before them renders them speechless and frozen for a while.

"Care to help?" Riku asks sarcastically, struggling.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SON?" Squall explodes at Riku's face as Rinoa hurriedly rushes to Riku's side, checking on her son's condition.

"It wasn't me," Riku replies calmly. "There were some guys at the basket ball court…" He suppresses the urge to smile before he says the next line, as if telling a common joke. "They were… real monsters," He says, smirking a bit.

Squall gives him a puzzled look before quickly rushing to take his unconscious son from Riku and carry him upstairs.

Rinoa is about to go fetch the medical kit when Riku stops her. "This is Sora's," he says, handing her his cell phone. She distractedly takes it from him before rushing off to the kitchen.

With a long stretch, Riku reflexes his muscles and then, after staring at the stairs for a while, leaves and shuts the front door behind him.

-X-X-X-

Sora opens his eyes to find himself on the comfort of his own bed, in his messy, but beloved room.

He turns his head to his side to find his mother by his bed, smiling at him happily. "How do you feel, sweetie?" She asks softly, caressing her boy's cheek.

"Great," he smiles back at his mother widely. He looks around her before asking, "Where's dad?"

"He's downstairs, yelling at your friend Tidus for letting you go off alone, he's been doing for hours now, he even demanded he speaks to his parents!" She shakes her head, resisting the urge to giggle.

Sora sweat-drops. "I see…" And then he gets reminded that he just ditched his friends. "Mom! Where is my cell phone?" He asks her urgently. "I need to call Tidus!"

"But your father is talking to him at the moment," she reminds him.

"I'll send him a message then," he says quickly. "Where's my cell phone?"

She reaches out for her pocket and hands it over to him. "The silver-haired boy who brought you here retrieved it for you," Rinoa informs him.

"Riku?" Sora blinks with surprise. "He brought me all the way here?"

"He looks like a nice guy," his mother says, smiling. "A bit rough like your father but with a good heart. I can tell."

Sora smiles, recalling the event that happened earlier today.

"I'll leave you to rest now," Rinoa says, getting up to leave. "While I go and cook you something. You must be hungry."

Sora grins. "Very," He tells her before she shuts the door. He can hear laugh outside his door.

Once he's alone, he holds up his cell phone, writes his message to Tidus – explaining what happened briefly – and then searches for Tidus' name under the friends category so he can send it. But then he sees something that surprises him.

Right under the 'friends category' is a name that wasn't there before . . .

**Riku Yoshida**

Sora breaks into a big, wide grin after he clicks Riku's name to call him. "Hey Riku," he says as soon as Riku picks up.

_Silence._ And then –

"Hey idiot," Riku's sleepy voice greets him. "Do you realize what time it is?"

Sora blinks confusedly at his cell phone, it says: 2:32 am.

"Oh, crap…" Riku hears Sora say and breaks out laughing. Sora laughs along at his own idiocy.

And . . . once again, a friendship is formed. One that never gets broken ever, ever again.

-X-X-X-

Next day at Twilight High, Kairi is by her locker, digging through it like usual when Riku approaches her. This time, she turns around and greets him with a smile.

"Sora told me," is the first thing she says to him. "And if Sora's your friend then I guess… I am too."

Riku smiles back. Just when he opens his mouth to say something else, Sora pops up between them. He has a few bandages on, but otherwise he's completely back to normal. "Hey guys!"

Riku's right eye twitches angrily, for Sora just ruined a moment for him.

"Did you do our History assignment?" Sora asks panicky.

Kairi and Riku face-palm.


	20. Flashback: Part Three

**Note: it's still in the past!**

**Chapter 20**

"I'm going to school," Riku announces emotionlessly to his mother as he's descending down the stairs. After lots of arguments with his dad, Riku has decided to live with his mother instead.

Unfortunately, his mother doesn't hear him and continues talking loudly into the phone while pacing around the living room angrily. "I thought we clearly agreed that until Riku turns eighteen, _you_ are responsible for his monthly allowance?"

Clearly, she is talking to his father, Riku thinks with an inner sigh. "I'm going to school," Riku repeats again impatiently.

For once, he wants her to look at him, smile, and say 'good morning, have a nice day' like most mothers do. But like hell that'll happen though. She never even asks him if he wants to eat breakfast.

Instead, she distractedly nods at his direction, waving a hand his way in a gesture that meant he's got her permission to leave.

Rolling his eyes, Riku leaves his house and slams the front door shut behind him.

Just outside his house, Solana is waiting by the fence, holding a lunch bag in front of her. When she spots Riku, she smiles happily and rushes toward him.

"Good morning, Riku!" She says enthusiastically before pushing the lunch bag in front of his face. "Here, I made you breakfast!"

"Thanks, I'll eat it later," Riku tells her coldly, taking the bag and casually walking past her toward their school's direction.

Solana frowns to herself as Riku walks ahead and leaves her behind, her shoulders slumping in disappointment.

Riku suddenly feels sorry for her, for she's cared enough to wait for him outside his house and even prepare him breakfast. He stops walking and asks coolly over his shoulder, "Want to walk with me to school?"

Her answer is almost immediate, "Yes!" She nearly skips toward his side, grinning from ear to ear. Riku smirks a bit to himself, nearly causing her to swoon.

Not very far away, hiding behind a lamp post, Yuffie watches the scene in front of her with a pout before looking down at the apple in her hand.

"But I wanted to give him my apple…" She mumbles sadly to herself. "He needs to eat more healthy food for his basketball training!"

Then, tossing her bag over her shoulder, she takes a bite of the apple with her other free hand and starts taking her own way to their school.

"At this rate… I'll never get a chance to talk to him!" She sighs to herself miserably.

-X-X-X-

_Twilight Middle School, lockers area_

"What are you planning to do for the summer holiday?" Kairi asks her friends – Sora and Riku – cheerfully near their lockers.

"We're going to visit our family at the islands," Sora replies excitedly. "Like most holidays."

"Can I come along?" Kairi asks, equally excited. "I miss the islands!" They are referring to their hometown – Destiny Islands – of course.

"Sure," Sora grins at the red-head. She grins back. And then they turn to the silent silver-head leaning on his locker coolly.

"What about you, Riku?" Sora and Kairi ask expectantly at the same time.

"I guess I'll tag along," Riku says after a moment of silence, shrugging. "I have nothing better to do."

Sora and Kairi grin before hugging each other and crying, "Yay!"

Riku resists the urge to laugh at their idiocy, and instead, smiles a little at them. And then, suddenly, he pokes at Sora's bandaged left cheek.

"Ow!" Sora yells loudly with pain, quickly covering his left cheek and glaring at the silver-head. "It still hurts!"

"Hn," Riku utters unintelligibly, a hard-to-read expression on his face.

Kairi pulls the pouty Sora to one side and whispers into his ears, "I think he wanted to check if it still hurt or not, but he was too embarrassed to ask!" She snickers before adding, "Who'd have thought that Riku is such a softie on the inside?"

"Hey!" Riku glares at their direction. "I heard you."

Sora and Kairi giggle guiltily at him when suddenly; Tidus and Wakka appear out of nowhere and drag Sora with them to another side.

"I got into a lot of trouble because of you!" Tidus tells Sora with an angry frown, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Sorry," Sora replies with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his head.

"And now suddenly, you became like Riku's boyfriend or something!" Tidus says irritatedly.

"Rikku's… boyfriend?" Sora repeats confusedly. _Silence_. Sora thinks to himself long and hard before finally looking up and saying innocently, "But I don't feel the same way about Rikku…And Rikku seemed okay with us just being friends…"

Upon hearing that, Tidus and Wakka start to pale, completely frozen in shock. Their eyes are about the size of saucers.

At this moment, Riku decides to come in. He glances curiously at Tidus as he hurriedly starts to leave with Wakka in tow.

"Th-This explains a lot…." Riku hears Tidus mumble as he passes by him.

Wakka puts a hand on Riku's shoulder before leaving, looks him in eyes and says softly. "Don't worry, bro. Your secret will be safe with us."

After they left, Riku turns to Sora and looks at him suspiciously. "What did they mean?" He asks, nodding at their direction.

Sora shrugs innocently, resting his hands behind his head and starting to walk to where Kairi is. "Beats me!" He tells Riku casually as he passes by him.

"_That idiot must have said something stupid again,"_ Riku thinks, his left eye twitching angrily.

From the distance, Yuffie is hiding behind her open locker, waiting for the right moment to pop in there and talk to the silver-head, but feeling too nervous to actually do it.

Frowning, she sighs to herself miserably and leans back on her locker.

"Do you hate Riku too?" An eerie, quiet voice asks beside her. She shrieks and quickly turns to face the intruder. She relaxes when she sees that it's just Zexion, a fellow student here.

He looks at her expectantly for an answer.

"I don't hate Riku!" Yuffie glares at him. "Sheesh, you almost scared the life out of me!" She adds, clutching her chest where her heart won't stop pounding.

"I see…" Zexion replies softly, clearly disappointed. "I'm surprised and a little sad that… a person as good as you… loves a scum… like him." He stares at the direction of Riku hatefully.

Suddenly, Yuffie grabs him for his shirt and glares into his eyes dangerously.

"Hey!" She yells at his face angrily. "Don't ever dare talk shit about Riku again! You don't know anything about him!"

"Do you?" He retorts calmly in his quiet, eerie voice.

Yuffie is taken aback. "N-Not much…" She mumbles weakly, looking at the floor.

With a small confident smirk, Zexion walks past her and passes by Riku on the way.

When Riku notices him, they lock eyes for a moment and glare. Riku clenches his hand into a fist, ready to punch, but under Kairi's and Sora's pleading stares, he relaxes and turns away from him.

Zexion's smirk slips off as he continues his way silently.

Meanwhile, Yuffie clutches her chest, a confused expression on her face. "This feeling…" She tells herself quietly. "Is it really…love?"

-X-X-X-

_PE, the gym…_

"Hey, Riku!" Seifer – standing in line before Riku to practice their basketball shoots – hisses at his direction. "Your _boyfriend's_ loud cheering is annoying me!"

"It's distracting y'know?" Rai – standing in front of Seifer – backs his leader up immediately.

Riku sighs inwardly to himself before turning to stare at the direction of the audience. Sure enough, the same black-haired person that Riku previously has mentioned that he hardly knows anything about is standing among the crowd, cheering him on and calling his name oh so ear-deafeningly.

Sweat-dropping, Riku turns back to Seifer and Rai. "There's nothing I can do about it," he tells them quickly before bouncing his ball and preparing himself for his turn.

Behind him, Sora scans the crowd confusedly, trying to detect that 'boyfriend' they have been talking about.

"SORA!" The coach yells impatiently all of a sudden. "It's your turn, MOVE IT!"

Sora immediately stops scanning the crowd and focuses back on their practice.

-X-X-X-

_After PE,_

Yuffie is standing just outside the guys' lockers, waiting for Riku to come out so she can give him a cold bottle of water and have a chance to finally talk with him.

Eventually, everyone leaves but Riku – even Sora has gotten out earlier, stealing her bottle of water after expressing how hungry he is and then presumably has rushed to the cafeteria – Yuffie is starting to worry.

She looks around her to make sure she's alone. And then, as silently as possible, she opens the door to the guys' lockers and peeks inside, feeling naughty.

"R-Riku?" She asks nervously without stepping in. "Are you in there?"

Silence for a while, and then, finally, she hears him reply, "Over here!"

She steps in cautiously before looking around her and then asking, "Where?"

"Here," Yuffie hears him say once more and follows his voice.

She spots one open locker a bit further in front of her. Riku's sitting on a chair in front of it.

"What are you doing?" She hears Riku's impatient voice coming from there. "I told you to come over here already!"

"I-I'm coming!" She replies hastily then peeks behind his locker door to look at him, and freezes. For he's half naked, with only one towel covering his lower half.

"What?" Riku asks snappishly when he notices her staring.

Yuffie shakes her head robotically.

"Fetch me an extra towel," Riku orders emotionlessly. "This is already wet."

Under normal circumstances, Yuffie would say 'fetch your own towel, lazyass!' But this isn't a normal circumstance. In front of her is a boy she likes very much, and he's half naked for God's sake. And he looks so _fine_, Yuffie thinks to herself with an inner drool. _"No wonder all the girls are crazy about him!"_

"T-T-T-Towel! Gotcha!" She stutters panicky before quickly looking around her in all directions.

Riku watches her with a raised eyebrow. "It's near the showers area," he says calmly, as if he's pointing out something obvious.

"A-Ah!" Yuffie utters nervously, palming her face hard before rushing there.

Once she gets there, she starts searching the area panicky. "Towel, towel… Where are thou towel?" She mumbles anxiously to herself as she checks the wardrobes. She finds the towels eventually and runs back to Riku.

Panting, Yuffie hands him his towel. He takes it and starts drying his wet hair with it. Yuffie watches, wide-eyed, while resisting the urge to drool over the sight in front of her.

After he's finished drying his hair, he stands up and is about to take off the last piece of garment cover him when Yuffie interrupts.

"STOP!" She yells, pushing a hand in front of her.

Riku stops and eyes her strangely. "What?" He asks snappishly. "I'll be late for my next class if I don't change fast." Somehow, the person in front of him reminds him a lot of Sora. Annoying and idiotic.

Yuffie backs away nervously. "I-I see… then I'll leave you to change," she says before walking away hurriedly toward the door.

"Stop," Riku stops her.

She freezes, cursing under her breath, but dares not to look back for she's just heard the sound of Riku's towel fall off.

"Y-Yes?" She questions weakly.

"Wait right there," he commands, starting to change into his casual clothes. Here in Twilight Middle School, they are free to wear whatever they want.

_(Note: right now, everyone is wearing their KH2 outfits)_

"I want to talk to you about something after I finish," He tells her casually, thinking about how to tell her to stop cheering on him so loudly during practices, it's annoying the team.

Yuffie gulps nervously. _"What about? WHAT ABOUT?"_She wonders to herself anxiously. _"Is he going to confess? Does he want to go on a date?"_She shakes her head violently_. "Can't be! No one would want to date me…"__S_ thinks sadly, her shoulders slumping miserably.

"_I have a boyish outlook, and I'm flat-chested…"_ She taps at her almost non-existence chest with a pout. _"And I even sound and act like a boy!" _She sighs to herself miserably. _"Damnit! Why did I have to be born in a house full of guys?"_

Riku finally finishes changing and walks toward her.

"Good, you're still here," He mutters, pleased. "I'll make this quick because I'm late for class," he looks at her seriously. "The guys at the team said that your loud cheering is distracting them. Can you… keep it down or something?" He walks past her coolly, waving at her quickly goodbye. "See ya."

He opens the door, leaves, and shuts it behind him.

Meanwhile, Yuffie stands there blankly, not yet registering what has just went. Quickly, she turns around and hurries after Riku.

Outside the boys' lockers, the hallway is empty. Everyone has already gone to class. Fortunately for Yuffie, she catches up to Riku just in time, he's walking just ahead of her.

"HOLD IT!" She commands determinedly.

Riku slowly turns around and looks at her with an annoyed expression. "What?" He asks impatiently.

Yuffie dashes toward him, but keeping some distance between them.

"I…I…" She bites her lower lip nervously before gathering her courage and exclaiming, "I LIKE YOU!"

There, she's said it, finally, Yuffie thinks with relief.

_Silence_.

Riku stands where he is, a shocked expression on his face. His aquamarine eyes are wide open, and they rarely ever do that.

"D-Don't stay silent…" Yuffie starts awkwardly, staring at the floor. "Say something… it took me a lot of courage to confess… and…"

"Sorry," Riku finally replies in a cold, blunt tone. "I don't date boys."

And then, just like that, he turns around and walks off.

Yuffie frowns to herself deeply, but then, the last thing he's said made her confused so she looks up and yells at him commandingly again, "RIKU YOSHIDA!"

Riku sighs and turns around again. "What now?" He asks tiredly.

"What do you mean you don't date boys?" She asks confusedly.

"I meant what I said," he tells her with a shrug. "I'm straight." Then, his eye twitching angrily, he adds, "Despite all the rumors that come from… an unreliable source." He's obviously referring to Sora, mentally thinking of murdering him.

Yuffie blinks in confusion before exclaiming, "So am I!"

_Silence._

Riku stares at her, his eyes widening suddenly. Yuffie watches him with confusion.

"You're…" Riku begins quietly before gulping. "…a girl?"

_Confused nod._

"Seriously?"

_Nod._

Riku walks closer to her, leans his face toward hers and studies it carefully. Yuffie blushes at his closeness and looks at the floor timidly. Suddenly, Riku covers his now blushing face in shock and steps back.

"Y-You are a girl…!"

It's Yuffie's turn to look at him with wide open eyes.

"You mean… you thought I was a…" She trails off with disbelief, her eyes becoming wider and wider as realization hit her. She gasps and then pushes him away violently to the floor. "YOU **PRICK**!"

And then, turning, she runs off as fast as she can, leaving a bewildered Riku sitting on the hallway's floor.

-X-X-X-

_Few days later…_

Yuffie is walking casually in the school hallway when the fangirls, upon seeing her, stiffen and glare at her with disgust.

"Is this the girl who called Riku 'Prick'?

"She looks like a boy!"

"She's so plain!"

"Riku-sama wouldn't be interested in someone like her!"

Yuffie ignores them, however. She doesn't care what people think of her, and certainly not what a bunch of air-headed fangirls think.

Meanwhile, Riku appears from among them suddenly, and his eyes widen a bit when he recognizes Yuffie, who blinks back at him curiously.

Riku quickly regains his composure and asks her harshly, "What do you want with a prick like me?"

Clearly, he's still bitter about before, Yuffie thinks, sweat-dropping to herself. Just when she opens her mouth to retort, she gets pushed aside and onto the floor.

Solana – founder of Riku's fanclub – glares at Yuffie hard before wrapping her arms around Riku's and smirking down at her. "Ri-ku," Solana says sweetly. "How about we go on a date after school?"

"Sure, whatever," Riku replies distractedly, eager to get out of the crowd enveloping him.

"Yay! We'll have lots of fun!" Solana grins happily, and then, looking down at the devastated Yuffie, she asks Riku innocently, "Do you know her?"

Riku looks down at Yuffie emotionlessly for a while before finally muttering, "No."

"Are you sure she's not one of the girls you've dated before?" Solana continues her innocent act.

"No, and I want to get outta here so tell your girls to piss off," Riku tells her quickly.

Solana's evil smirk stretches as she looks down at Yuffie again. And then, turning back to Riku, she says playfully with a wink, "Okay, will do!"

With her arms wrapped around Riku's, she roughly tells the girls to step aside as she and the silver-head leave the crowd.

Yuffie is left stranded there as the fangirls begin to disperse with a pained expression.

-X-X-X-

After that incident, Yuffie goes to the roof-top and cries by herself. She feels really humiliated. Her pride is hurt and Riku… Riku has acted like an insensitive jerk. Maybe Zexion is right, maybe Riku really is a scum. She's just been blind to it. And only scum like Solana are worthy of someone like him!

"_He thinks everyone loves him…"_Yuffie thinks, getting angrier and angrier by the second. _"And all the girls worship him like he's some God…"_She huffs to herself. _"I can't believe I was one of them!"_

"_But I'm not blind anymore! I am worth more than that!"_ She stands up confidently. _"I'll show that prick what he's worth!"_

And that is how it began . . .

-X-X-X-

It's next morning, and today's hot topic in Twilight Middle school is Sora. He's gotten really popular lately, everyone knows him. Likes him. He has his own fanclub that even consisted of fanboys.

Kairi elbows him playfully near their lockers. "You have many cute fangirls… why don't you date one, hmm?"

Sora blushes a little, rubbing the back of his head before replying, "They're all cute but… they're not that interesting."

"You're too picky Sora!" Kairi scolds him, pouting.

"What about you Kairi?" Sora counters, narrowing his eyes at the red-head. "Instead of always nagging me about getting a girlfriend, why don't _you_ get yourself a boyfriend, _hmmm_?"

"You've gotten smarter too…" Kairi notes, sweat-dropping. Then, humming thoughtfully, she adds, "I wonder what kind of girl would interest you..."

"Hmm, I wonder too…" Sora hums along thoughtfully. Kairi gives him a traditional smack on the head.

"You don't have your own preferred type of girls?" She exclaims with disbelief.

"Ow!" Sora winces, glaring at the red-head while rubbing his head where it hurts. "No, I don't! Why are you treating it like a crime?"

Kairi sighs. "You're the weirdest guy I've ever met!"

"Sheesh! Just because I'm a guy, do I have to obsess over girls?"

"Yes!" is Kairi's immediate answer with a 'duh'-like look on her face.

"Okay, fine…" Sora says suddenly, giving up. "Do I have to say?"

Kairi blinks at him with surprise. "You mean you do have a type of –"

"Yeah, yeah," Sora tells her quickly, a sheepish look on his face. She looks at him expectantly as he says it, "I like… I like…" He looks away. "Girls who are a bit like you… should be nice."

Kairi's eyes go wide. "Girls like me?"

"Like you, but _not_ you!" Sora explains hastily. "_Definitely_ not you!" He mutters to himself quietly as he looks away, but she's heard him. And for that, he's received another traditional smack on the head.

"Definitely…" He says really weakly to himself while rubbing his head again where she's hit.

Meanwhile, Yuffie storms into the school building like a soldier on a mission.

Marching a few steps ahead, she finally spots her target – Riku – and stands before him proudly. And then, lifting a finger and pointing it at the perplexed Riku leaning on his locker, she announces loudly, "RIKU YOSHIDA! I DECLARE _**WAR**_!"

-X-X-X-

_Great Yuffie Strategy #1_

"I thought all night for these pranks!" Yuffie tells Kairi excitedly near the lockers area. "And you know what they call me – YUFFIE KISARAGI, THE PRANK MISTRESS!"

Suddenly, they notice Riku walking by their direction. Kairi watches silently as Yuffie sneaks to the middle of the hallway, places a banana peel on the ground and then quickly rushes to hide behind Kairi's open locker.

"Banana… peels?" Kairi asks incredulously, sweat-dropping.

"HE SHALL TRIP AND MAKE A COMPLETE FOOL OF HIMSELF!" Yuffie exclaims before cackling maniacally like a witch.

Unfortunately, Sora comes out of nowhere in front of Riku, steps on the banana peel, slips, and falls face first on the floor.

_Great Yuffie Strategy #2_

"When he opens his locker," Yuffie tells Kairi her second plan with an evil smirk stretching on her face. "This… This clown in a can _thing_ will pop up and scare him shitless!" She cackles like a witch some more.

"A… clown?" Kairi asks, sweat-dropping.

"YES!" Yuffie exclaims confidently. "Clowns are scary!"

Sadly for Yuffie, Riku doesn't get scared at all. In fact, he just grabs the thing and tosses it over his shoulder. It is poor Sora beside him that's almost got a heart-attack.

_Great Yuffie Strategy #3_

It's during their first class. Yuffie watches Riku texting someone on his cell phone and smirks evilly.

Instantly, she raises her hand and tells the teacher, "Mrs. Peterson, Riku is using his cell phone during class!"

Riku turns his head to glare at her, a pissed-off expression on his face. She sends him a victorious smirk in return.

"_Finally,"_ Yuffie thinks excitedly. _"I got him!"_

But when Mrs. Peterson starts confiscating students of their cell phones and 'means of distraction', as she calls them, – poor Sora gets his PSP confiscated – only Riku manages to charm their teacher, and gets away with it. She makes him promise to not use it again in class, though. But still, Yuffie is furious. Her plan has just failed. Yet again.

_Great Yuffie Strategy #4_

It's lunch break, another great opportunity for Yuffie to implement her newest plan to make Riku's life hell.

Kairi watches calmly from across their cafeteria table as Yuffie starts messing with Riku's lunch after he's gone to get them some napkins. She replaces his cookie with one of her own, and even his glass of water with another one.

Kairi stares at her warily. "What's with the cookie? Is it poisoned?"

"No," Yuffie starts explaining proudly. "This is actually a CHILI COOKIE! He'll burn his tongue when he eats it!" She cackles like a witch.

Kairi sweat-drops. "And the water? Is _that_ poisoned?"

"Nope! It's filled with SALT!" Yuffie tells her, grinning mischievously. "After he eats the chili cookie and burns his tongue, he'll reach out for this water and drink it! And then…!" She laughs out loud like a maniac again, earning a few sweat-drops from the students around them.

But then… Yup, you've guessed it. Sora comes, takes one look at the cookie, grabs it, takes a bite of it and… you can pretty much guess the rest of the scenario. He dashes off to find the nearest drinkable water.

"Noooo!" Yuffie cries with despair at her plan's failure, clutching both sides of her head dramatically. "Not _again_!"

Kairi sweat-drops in the background as she eats her lunch in peace. "Poor Sora…" She says with a sigh. "He must be cursed."

_Great Yuffie Strategy #5_

This time, it is during their PE class. Riku, Sora and the rest of their basketball team are practicing while the others are watching. Yuffie takes this opportunity to initiate her 5th plan.

Sneakily, she steals one of the basket balls and puts super glue over it, and then, just as sneakily, when Riku is in need of a ball, she places it conveniently close to him and hurries to hide somewhere and watch as her prey is slowly falling into her trap.

"Hehehe! Come on, pick it up prick!" She giggles to herself evilly as she watches Riku approach the ball.

But then, like always, Sora comes of nowhere and kindly expresses to Riku that he'll get the ball for him.

Yuffie's eyes go wide as she springs out of her hideout, stretches her arm in front of her and yells, "NOOOOOOO!" in slow-motion.

Unfortunately for her, Sora picks it up just as she reaches him and the arm she has extended before her touches it as well, causing them to get stuck together.

"Let go Yuff!" Sora tells her in annoyance, trying to pull the ball to his side.

"I CAN'T YOU IDIOT! WE'RE STUCK!" She explodes at his face, hitting Sora with the ball stuck between their hands repeatedly and chanting, "Idiot, idiot, idiot!" all the while.

Riku sweat-drops in the background.

_Great Yuffie Strategy #6_

Riku opens his locker and finds Yuffie crawled up inside, attempting to plant another surprise box, with a snake inside this time, instead of the clown one earlier.

Riku blinks at her with utter shock.

"Shit, he found me…!" Yuffie curses to herself quietly.

They stare at each other in silence for a while.

"Yuffie, what you are you doing in my locker, and how the heck did you fit in there?" Riku asks, mystified.

"I'm in your locker… prying on your stuff and copying your home-works!" Yuffie tells him grimly.

Riku sweat-drops, resisting the urge to laugh.

"Don't think you've won! I've got many other pranks up my sleeve mister!" Yuffie exclaims, shaking a fist at his face.

Calmly, he closes his locker on her face and walks off. Yuffie busts out, scaring the students around her – some of them even shrieked –, and goes after Riku.

"COME BACK HERE!" She yells, shaking an angry fist after him. "I'LL DEFINITELY CAUSE YOU UNHAPPINESS!"

Ironically, she's causing the exact opposite.

Riku smiles to himself amusedly as he hears her footsteps stalking him._"She's amusing…" _He thinks with a wider smile.

Meanwhile, Sora looks for Riku around his locker when he finds a small box on the floor just under it. He picks it up, only for the snake to pop out at his face.

He faints to the floor from the sudden fright.

_Great Yuffie Strategy #7_

"This… is not over!" Yuffie exclaims to her friends at the lockers, panting. "I still have… one more…!"

"Please… no more…!" Sora nearly sobs, looking at her pleadingly.

"What is your great plan this time?" Kairi asks sarcastically.

"Annoy him!" Yuffie answers forcefully.

"How?" The red-head asks curiously.

"There's nothing more annoying than people staring at your every move for no reason!"

And so she does it. As soon as Riku comes, she keeps staring at his every move closely. Everything he does, every move he makes, she stares into it with wide open eyes.

Riku sweat-drops. "Hey… she-man, you want something?" He asks eventually.

"…" She continues staring at him silently, an unreadable expression on her face.

Riku shrugs and turns around to walk off. She follows persistently, staring at his every move. Riku is starting to feel uneasy, so he begins to speed-walk.

"Leave me alone!" He snaps at her as she keeps tagging along beside him and, not to mention, staring at him. "Creep!"

Eventually, she doesn't know where she's going and slams onto Sora's open locker before falling backward to the floor. Finally, Riku loses her.

"I will… get you…" She mutters weakly, struggling to get up, but then falls back to the floor.

-X-X-X-

After school, the four of them: Sora, Kairi, Riku and Yuffie are walking back to their homes, taking the same route. Riku is walking in front, Kairi and Sora together a bit further behind, and Yuffie way far behind them, sulking by herself.

"Hey, Sora," Kairi whispers quietly, elbowing Sora beside her. "Do you think Riku is still a virgin or not?" She asks wonderingly, staring straight ahead at the silver-head's back.

"B-But Riku's—!" Sora exclaims a bit too loudly, causing the silver-head to look back over his shoulder curiously at them. They smile at him innocently. He knows that something is up but he shrugs it off, whatever it is, it must be stupid.

After he turns his head back, Kairi continues, "Riku became sixteen last month. And he's already a grown man. Unlike _someone_!" She says the last part teasingly.

"Hey!" Sora pouts at her.

"What do you think?" Kairi asks quietly. "Is he or is he not a virgin? You're a fellow guy; you should've at least heard him talk about it once or twice…"

Sora shakes his head. "Riku never talks about his dates or girls in general in front of anyone."

"Hmm…" They hum together thoughtfully.

"What do _you_ think?" Sora asks the red-head curiously.

"I don't know…" She trails off uncertainly before urging the brunette excitedly, "Ask him!"

"About what?" Sora questions dumbly.

"If he did _it_ or not stupid!" Kairi retorts snappishly.

"Wh-Why _me_?" Sora stares at her with wide open eyes, horrified. "It's weird for a guy to ask another guy… this kind of thing!"

"Then how are we supposed to know!"

"Why don't _you_ ask him?" Sora suggests.

"No way!" Kairi retorts quickly, shaking her head. "If I do, he might get the wrong idea!"

They sigh exasperatedly at the same time.

"Hey!" Kairi suddenly cheers up, smiling. "How about we _both_ ask him?"

"Good idea!" Sora agrees, smiling back.

And then, they hurry to Riku's side. The silver-head turns to his right to find Sora and Kairi next to him. He stares at their direction questioningly.

Kairi elbows Sora hard, urging him to start talking.

"_Me_?" Sora exclaims in horror. "I thought we agreed we both do it!" He hisses quietly at her. She gives him a 'don't-you-dare-defy-me' glare. Gulping nervously, Sora turns back to the silver-head. "Er, Riku…" He starts nervously.

"Hn?" Riku utters questioningly without looking at him.

Sora takes a deep breath before contemplating over how to phrase his question…

Did you ever do _it_? Are you virgin? Did you ever sleep with a woman before?

Sora, being Sora, chooses the third option in his head.

"D-Did you ever sleep… with a woman b-before?" He asks shamefully, staring at the ground.

_Awkward silence for Sora and Kairi._

Riku stares at them for a while before breaking into a little smirk and answering bluntly, "Yeah. My mother."

Sora pales, wide-eyed. He turns to the red-head swiftly. "His mother…!" He tells her with horror.

Needless to say, he receives yet another traditional smack on the head.

"Hey…Don't beat around the bush," Riku tells them suddenly, smirking knowingly at the two. "Just ask straightforwardly."

Sora and Kairi blush bright red from embarrassment, but neither of them dare to bring it up again.

Finally, Sora and Riku reach the route to their houses and split up from Riku and Yuffie.

"B-Bye bye!" Kairi waves at them with a nervous giggle, not daring to look at Riku. Because she's sure that he's still having that smirk on his face.

"S-See ya!" Sora salutes just as nervously before turning away with Kairi and walking off in a hurry.

"And Kairi was the one curious, huh…" Riku mutters to himself quietly as he watches them off, smirking with satisfaction. Then he turns around and makes his way home.

-X-X-X-

Yuffie is sulkily trailing far behind Riku. Usually, she'd stay way, way far behind so he wouldn't be able to spot her. But now it doesn't matter anymore. Riku is her enemy.

"_This sucks…"_Yuffie thinks bitterly as she glares at Riku's back. _"All my great strategies failed!"_

Riku feels her glaring at him, and smirks to himself amusedly. Somehow, Yuffie senses it.

"What are you smirking about huh?" She explodes at him irritatedly from the distance.

"All this time…" Riku begins to explain softly, a hint of a smile on his face. "I thought you were a guy and you're my neighbor." Yuffie can hear him snicker to himself at the irony of it.

She grits her teeth hard, furious. "I hate him!" Yuffie hisses under her breath. "I hate him! I wish he—" Suddenly she feels herself colliding with his back. "HEY!"

Look past him, she finds that they've already made it home. Yuffie's home is right next door, ironically.

"Oh," Yuffie utters weakly, rubbing her head where she's collided with him. Then, looking past him again to see what's holding him up, she notices a car parked outside Riku's house. And a man is inside it. His father.

Without even looking at Riku, the man drives off past them.

"Can't wait to turn eighteen…" Riku mutters quietly. "Get away from the both of them…"

Yuffie eyes him with pity. She knows about his parents' divorce story from her mother – the neighborhood's gossiper.

"Are you okay?" She asks gently.

"Fine," he answers curtly before walking ahead toward his house.

"What a prick!" Yuffie huffs angrily, frowning.

Riku stops and turns to look at her intimidatingly. "What did you call me?"

"A prick!" She repeats forcefully.

Riku's eye twitches angrily at the insult.

"Prick, prick, prick, prick, prick!" She chants, smirking victoriously from ear to ear. For he finally seems annoyed.

Abruptly and without warning, he pulls her to him from her shirt and quickly pecks her lips in a desperate attempt to shut her up.

Yuffie's eyes are wide and full of shock when he lets go. She stands there, frozen and staring at nothing in particular. Riku is smirking smugly, studying her reaction with amusement.

Suddenly, she clutches both sides of her head and screams at the sky dramatically, "_**NOOOOOOOO**_!"

Riku blinks at her, not expecting this reaction. _"It should have been a 'dream come true' to her…or something,"_ he thinks, bewildered.

"What?" Riku asks confusedly, a puzzled look on his face.

"MY FIRST KISS!" She gasps loudly in true terror, covering her mouth. "YOU DID THIS ON PURPOSE DIDN'T YOU! YOU EVIL!" She accuses him sobbingly. And, turning to her house, she dashes off at the speed of light, screaming, "_**NOOOOOO**_!" all the way.

He can still hear her running inside her own house, and then stomping on the stairs to her room, and finally slamming her door shut.

Suddenly, her window opens and she sticks out her head, screaming and shaking a fist down at him, "I'LL CAUSE YOU MISERY RIKU YOSHIDA! MARK MY WORDS!" And then, finally, she slams her window shut.

_Silence._

Riku can't deny that he is quite amused. He chuckles to himself, shaking his head before tossing back behind his back and going into his own house.

Life is going to get more interesting from now on, it seems…

-X-X-X-

It is a new day at Twilight Middle school – Monday – just after the weekend, which, to a certain someone, has been pretty eventful . . .

Kairi is talking nonstop to Sora about some guy in Sora's basketball team that she may possibly like and she wants him to get some info about that guy. Behind Sora, Yuffie is messing with Riku's locker, trying to plant her newest trap.

As for Sora himself, he's been completely silent. Never spoken a word the entire time.

Kairi is, of course, aware of this. She stops talking all of a sudden and stares at the brunette suspiciously. "What's wrong?" She asks bluntly.

Sora, like she's expected, panics and looks all around them nervously, fidgeting with his spiky hair. But otherwise, he remains silent.

"Sora, what the heck is wrong with you?" Kairi narrows her eyes dangerously at the brunette. "_Speak_!"

Sora takes a deep breath, thinking, _"Here goes…"_ Before he finally opens his mouth to speak.

"Okay…" He starts nervously, aware that his voice will trigger a commotion from the red-head soon. "I'll try talking to this guy for you next time we meet."

Kairi stares at him with wide open eyes; her shocked expression seems to be frozen on her face.

"_Crap,"_ Sora thinks panicky. _"She's turned to stone!"_

Suddenly, a huge grin spreads across Kairi's face as she announces cheerfully, clapping her hands together. "This goes for a celebration!"

"No!" Sora retorts quickly, sweat-dropping. "We don't need a celebration! Let's… let's just act like nothing happened okay? Go on with our lives…"

"No! Impossible!" Kairi cries stubbornly, pouting at the brunette. "This is a huge event! You've finally reached manhood!"

"I-It's not important… _and keep it low please_!" He hisses at the red-head.

"Sure it is!" Kairi smiles before stating bluntly, "Now you can make babies!"

"KAIRI!" Sora hisses loudly with disbelief, wide-eyed, quickly covering Kairi's mouth with his hand.

They stare into each others' eyes intensely.

"Wow…" Kairi says breathlessly when he lets go. "You're so hot Sora! I'm so proud of you!" She dries her fake tears with a napkin she took out of God knows where.

Sora steps back, feeling his face heating up. Behind him, he senses Riku approaching.

"Maybe this is a sign… Maybe that means you'll meet the girl of your destiny soon!" He hears the red-head say dreamily but ignores her and turns around to face the silver-head with a pleading look on his face.

Riku, however, doesn't make the situation any better.

"You've finally become a man… Good for you," Riku tells the brunette a bit too loudly with an evil smirk on his face. "Now it won't feel like I'm hanging out with a kid anymore."

Yuffie pops up out of nowhere in front of them, wide-eyed.

"SORA HIT PUBERTY?" She exclaims so loud that everyone in the hallway goes silent and turns to stare at Sora before swiftly beginning to murmur stuff to each other.

Sora feels like shrinking and vanishing into nonexistence from embarrassment.

Tidus suddenly passes by Sora and pats his back roughly. "Awesome dude! You've finally hit puberty!" He tells him with a thumbs-up before moving on.

Wakka trailing behind him does the same and says playfully, "You've finally become a man ya?"

And then Hayner, Pence and Olette pass by them just after Tidus and Wakka.

"Hey Sora!" Hayner greets with a mischievous grin. "Congrats on finally becoming a man!"

"Congrats!" Pence says at the same time. Olette simply giggles to herself before the three of them walk off.

Even the school's janitor, who happens to pass by, turns to the brunette and says with a wide fatherly smile, "Congratulations Sora, I heard you've finally become a man!"

Sora doesn't reply to any of them. He's too embarrassed. He merely blushes and nods at the floor, mentally cursing Yuffie each time.

It doesn't stop there, however. The fangirls – Solana and Isabella, head of his newly formed fanclub, included – complete Yuffie's job by spreading the news to the entire school population, going 'Kyaah! Kyaah!' and squealing whenever they see Sora, who is walking with his eyes directed shamefully at the floor during the whole day.

And even their teacher, during class, looks up from her book briefly to smile at Sora in a way the brunette thinks looks evil.

"I see someone has finally become a man!" She says, causing the entire class to laugh. Sora sinks lower and lower in his seat, hiding behind an upside down book.

"_I must be the last guy to finally hit puberty in this school!" _Sora thinks with a miserable sigh.

And then, during their basketball practice, the coach nearly says the same thing Sora has heard for the hundredth time today, "You've finally become a man, son! Good for you!"

And as he's exiting the guys' lockers, Seifer comes to him and smacks him on the back roughly before saying slyly, "Good! You've finally become a guy!"

"Th-Thank-… hey, _what_?"

-X-X-X-

After a long day in school for Sora, finally, he and his friends are walking back home. Sora sighs with relief, glad the day is over already.

Kairi smiles at him pitifully before turning to Yuffie and whispering, "Yuff… Why did you suddenly make Riku your enemy? I thought you really admi—"

Yuffie quickly covers the red-head's mouth shut so Riku, who is walking silently behind them – won't hear.

"I wonder too…" They hear Riku mutter softly, staring at Yuffie curiously. "Was it because I thought you were a guy?"

"YOU THOUGHT SHE WAS A GUY?" Kairi exclaims with disbelief, wide-eyed. Sora stares at the silver-head with a similar shocked expression.

Riku shrugs a little before looking away at some random scenery. He doesn't like the fact that he'd done something as stupid as this. These stupid misconceptions can only happen with people with a brain like Sora, and certainly not him.

"No, that's not only it," Yuffie mutters with a pout, glaring at Riku over her shoulder. He looks at her questioningly.

"I'll let you think about it prick!" She finally tells him with an evil smirk. Riku sweat-drops to himself and looks away.

Eventually, they split up. Yuffie is walking a fair distance behind Riku while Kairi and Sora walk together toward their own neighborhood.

-X-X-X-

_Sora's Home…_

Squall is sitting at the kitchen table, talking to his wife as she cleans the dishes at the sink.

"Sora's hiding something," Squall tells his wife worriedly. "He didn't say a word this morning and rushed off to school without even eating his breakfast."

"I noticed too," his wife says thoughtfully. "When I asked him if he was hungry, he started making some weird hand gestures..."

_Silence._

The two stop doing whatever they are doing and turn to each other with a look of surprise and sudden realization.

"Could it be…?" they trail off at the same time anxiously.

Suddenly, Sora barges in from the back door and throws his bag at the floor.

His parents pretend that nothing is happening and return to whatever they were doing quickly in silence.

Sora is suspicious. He stares at his parents long and hard as he makes his way to the stairs. His father's voice stops him, though.

"Wanna eat?" He asks as casually as possible. "You must be hungry. You're always hungry…"

But Sora doesn't say anything. He shakes his head and attempts to escape again.

"You sure?" His father stops him again, asking more forcefully.

Sora is stubborn, however, and only nods in response. He will do anything to avoid the famous father-son talk. The most awkward talk of all talks.

Squall is cunning though, and knows exactly how to tempt Sora into doing whatever he wants him to do.

"Oh, by the way," He tells Sora casually, stopping him for the third time. "I gave some of the cookies in that jar you hide under your bed to our neighbor's kid."

"WHAT?" Sora exclaims loudly, immediately falling for the trap. "WHO TOLD YOU TO DO THAT DAD?" And then, suddenly, realization hit him and he quickly covers his mouth, mentally cursing himself. "I mean…er…" He tries to mimic his old softer, childish voice – but fails terribly at it.

"_Stop talking, stop talking, stop talking…!"_ Sora thinks to himself panicky as the victorious grin on his parents face grows bigger and bigger.

Squall smirks from ear to ear at his son.

"My son has finally become a man!" He states proudly before turning to his wife. "Rinoa, leave us alone."

His wife obeys instantly, grinning at Sora like the proud mother she is as she passes by him to leave to the living room.

"Come here," Squall motions at the seat in front of him. "We have to…" He looks up and stares into Sora's scared blue eyes evilly. "…_Talk_."

Sora continues standing where he is, frozen and staring at his father in complete horror.

-X-X-X-

_Years ago with Axel and Demyx as kids…_

It is Axel's grandmother's funeral.

His grandmother is put in an open coffin in the middle of the living room. A seven-year-old Axel and Demyx stand at each side of her, staring at her corpse in awe.

"She looks less scary when she's dead!" Axel tells Demyx casually while examining the rest of her body.

"She has a huuuge pimple on the left side of her nose…" Demyx notes with a disgusted expression.

All of a sudden, Axel starts pulling at her hair. "Nope…" He says finally after letting go. "It's not a wig!"

They continue examining her body for a while when, suddenly; Axel turns to Demyx excitedly and says, "Hey, think we can go into her room now that she's dead?"

"You mean the room she always has locked and never lets us go near?" Demyx questions with wide curious eyes.

Axel nods, smirking.

Quickly, they run upstairs to that room and cautiously, Axel opens it. Inside is something they haven't expected to find. It is kind of like a storage room, full of antique weapons.

They step in carefully, scanning the dark room in wonder.

"Your grandmother keeps weapons?" Demyx asks breathlessly before gulping. "She's scary!"

"I always knew there was something fishy about her!" Axel says with a grim face.

With a shaking hand, Demyx picks up the nearest weapon to him. A pair of red pointy chakrams.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE?"

Demyx drops the chakrams to the floor and yelps, terrified. Quickly, he hugs Axel, who's frozen with fear. Shaking, they turn around and sigh with relief.

It is only Axel's grandfather. And he looks _very_ angry.

"DON'T EVER COME NEAR THIS ROOM AGAIN BRATS!" He scolds them furiously before motioning at the door. "NOW OUT!"

Pouting, Axel and Demyx head out of the room.

"Hey, how about burning our neighbor's mailbox?" Axel suggests to his partner-in-crime excitedly, quickly forgetting about the room.

"Isn't that… not nice?" Demyx mumbles uncertainly.

Sighing exasperatedly, Axel drags the blonde with him outside.

Meanwhile, Axel's grandfather picks up the chakrams on the floor and hugs them closer to his chest.

"Don't worry, my dear…" He tells it softly, caressing it. "Someday… _we will get our revenge_!" He says with a grim expression on his face, staring dangerously at the door where Axel and Demyx have left from earlier.


	21. The Halloween Date

Chapter 21

_**TV News report**_, _**Twilight High campus**_

Shot of a bruised and hurt Demyx being carried away on a stretcher to the back of the ambulance, surrounded by curious and concerned students and teachers.

Demyx is looking around him with anxious, horror-filled eyes, muttering continuously under his breath, "they're after me… they're watching me… they're after me…"

Next, a reporter woman appears in front of the ambulance and begins to speak into the mic about the incident that's occurred earlier with Demyx crashing into the window in what it seems to be a 'clear suicidal attempt of an emotionally and mentally disturbed teenager'.

"The student involved in this tragic accident is Demyx Nakamura, age eighteen. According to his classmates, Demyx is generally a happy and lively person with no reason whatsoever to attempt suicide... But is that really true?" The reporter woman narrows her eyes at the camera for a dramatic effect.

After that, it shows a shot of Rikku near her locker with a mic being held up in front of her face.

She's chewing a gum and looking at nothing in particular as she begins to speak into the mic, "He was just standing there," she points at the direction to his locker, "looking stupid like usual, and then I saw him get out some weird brown box out of his locker and open it," her expression changes to dark as she looks straight at the camera this time. "You should've seen him then! He looked like he'd seen a ghost!"

"Can you elaborate on that dear?" The reporter asks sweetly before pushing back the mic in front of the blonde.

Rikku shrugs a bit, looking at nowhere again. "I think he saw something in there that really scared him!" She nods, convinced.

The scene suddenly changes; the reporter woman is back on view, standing in the middle of the lockers hallway.

"Let's examine the box that Rikku Fujiwara just mentioned shall we?" She says before heading toward the direction of Demyx's still open locker with the camera following her.

She finds the box sitting right under his locker, picks it up, and looks inside. A perplexed expression consumes her face. And then, looking back at the camera, she shows the contents of the box to it.

The box is empty.

"There is absolutely _nothing_ inside the box!" The reporter exclaims with bewilderment.

The scene changes back to where the reporter is standing in front of the ambulance and Demyx on a stretcher being carried inside it, yelling in the background, "Hide me! _HIDE ME_!" He tries to get off the stretcher but the paramedics pull him back down. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! AXEL'S CHAKRAMS ARE _POSSESSED_! THEY'RE OUT TO GET ME I TELL YOU! HIS GRANDMA WANTS TO KILL ME, _**KILL**_ ME! AAAAAAAAHH!"

"And so," The reporter woman begins. "This concludes that – while Demyx Nakamura might not be depressed or having suicidal intentions – but he is, possibly, _mentally ill_!"

Scene switches to Demyx's Math Teacher, sitting behind her office desk with a mic stretched in front of her face.

"Demyx has…" Their Math teacher starts talking, "repeated this year twice already. This is his second time. As you know, he is eighteen years old; he should be a senior by now. But he…"

The reporter interrupts, withdrawing the mic to her quickly, "Are you saying that Demyx Nakamura is academically challenged?"

"Well, yes…" The teacher replies hesitantly when the mic is set in front of her again. "But he is not the only one, there's also Axel Akuma— Demyx's best friend – although he is very smart. You know, the stupid-genius kind of smart. He and Demyx are our school's Number One class-cutters. I think that is the reason why they have repeated this year that many times – not because they are mentally challenged or anything of the sort. But it looks like they are working hard this year, so I hope they will make it this time around. I have faith in them," the teacher smiles warmly. "Despite their occasional naughtiness, those two are very well-loved around here. They bring life to this school. It wouldn't be the same without them." And then, she adds in conclusion, "It is unfortunate what happened to Demyx, I pray that he gets well soon!"

Scene changes back to the reporter woman, standing in front of the school building.

"Was this a prank then? A reckless and desperate attempt to skip school? We know that Demyx and his best friend – Axel Akuma – are one of the school's top pranksters. Was this one of their many pranks? We are here to investigate by interviewing Demyx Nakamura's childhood friend and partner-in-crime: Axel Akuma himself!"

Camera goes after the reporter woman as she stalks Axel exiting the school building coolly next to Roxas.

"Excuse me!" The reporter calls after them.

Axel and Roxas turn back half-way at the same time with a questioning expression. They become quite alarmed – and, in Axel's case: _thrilled_ – when they notice the camera and the TV reporter coming their way.

"You're Axel Akuma correct? We'd like to talk with you for a minute, is that alright?"

Axel flashes her one of his devilish smirks. "Sure, babe, whatever you want," he tells her flirtatiously.

Roxas sweat-drops near him, the camera showing only a small part of his body as it's completely focused on Axel.

"Can you tell us a little about your best friend Demyx Nakamura?"

"Demyx?" Axel echoes with a disappointed look. "Sure, uh, what do you need to know?" He asks before muttering to himself with wonder, "Since when did that dimwit become famous…?"

"Anything you find interesting. Preferably linked to today's incident!" The reporter woman tells him quickly.

"Incident?" Axel echoes cluelessly.

The reporter woman blinks, startled. "You don't know?"

Axel shakes his head simply.

"A-Aren't you his best friend? Axel Akuma? Childhood friends since you were in diapers?"

"Yep."

"Weren't you informed that your best friend Demyx Nakamura had an accident this morning?"

"He didn't die, did he?" Axel breathes out quietly during the eerie silence.

"No!" The reporter retorts quickly, laughing nervously. "No, he did not."

Axel sighs out in relief. "Geez, woman, you scared the hell out of me!" He smirks at her suddenly in that devilish way of his. "But I still like you!" He winks at her mischievously.

"Isn't he a flirt?" The reporter woman chuckles forcefully before turning serious all of a sudden when asking, "How come you weren't informed? Were you out of the school when the incident occurred?"

"No, I was in all day… Surprisingly." And then, suddenly, he asks with a playful smirk, "Is this PUNK'D? 'Cause I _love_ your sho—"

"No, it's not. Sorry to disappoint you," she tells him quickly. "How come you didn't hear about your best friend's unfortunate accident? Everyone knows about it. That was a pretty nasty fall!"

"Oh!" Axel utters quickly once realization hit him, smacking his forehead. "You mean _that_ accident! The one where Demyx jumped out of the school's 2nd story window and…" He trails off with a casual shrug. "You know."

"Yeah! That one," The reporter answers hurriedly. "You do know of it?"

"Sure, I do!" Axel retorts arrogantly. "I know everything going on in this school!"

_Silence for a while._

"Your childhood friend is injured," The reporter states with bewilderment. "Aren't you concerned for his safety?"

"Oh, he's okay," Axel says carelessly, waving a dismissive hand in front of them. "It's _Demyx_. That guy has nine lives! Maybe even more… There's this one time at the amusement park… he fell all the way down a roller coaster and only got one broken arm." He shakes his head in great awe. "What can I say? He's indestructible. Like those Chakr—" He stops abruptly and clears his throat. "Do you know which hospital he's at?" Axel asks quickly to change the subject.

"Twilight Hospital," The reporter answers hastily. "Now tell us—"

Suddenly, Rai pops up in front of the red-head and starts waving at the camera. "HI MOM! I'M ON TV!" He exclaims giddily with a goofy expression.

Axel fingers him off out of the screen before turning to smirk at the reporter woman flirtatiously. "So where were we babe?"

"Uh, tell us about your friend Demyx and what you think might have led him to do such a risky thing as jumping out of a 2nd story window."

"Well, I do believe that it–" Axel begins; trying to sound sophisticated, but gets interrupted by Roxas, who has been mysteriously ignored for a while now.

"It was because of your damn Chak—"

But Axel pushes him out of the way abruptly, not wanting to tell the media that they believe that a pair of ancient weapons sent to them in a package from his dead Grandma – that have the ability to move and hover over the air by their own – are after their blood – most specifically Demyx's – and are believed to be possessed by the evil vengeful spirit of said Grandma.

"Stress!" Axel jumps in quickly while shoving poor Roxas completely off-screen. "It was stress!"

The reporter blinks at him stupidly. "I beg your pardon?"

Roxas sweat-drops to himself off-screen.

"You heard it... _Stress_!" Axel says again, looking back at her confidently. "A massive load of _stress_!"

"Can you elaborate on that a bit?" The reporter asks professionally.

"Uhh… they work us… they work us to the bone! They make us study nonstop! One exam after the other… And if there's no exam, there's always a quiz! They keep us studying around the clock I tell you!"

"You killed the books from studying so hard…" Roxas mutters sarcastically to himself off-screen.

"Hmm. I see," the reporter says thoughtfully before suddenly turning to Roxas. "And who are you?"

Roxas is startled when he finds that the camera's attention is on him now. He gulps hard before answering lamely, "I-I'm Roxas."

"The new student Roxas Harada, isn't that right? You're one of Demyx's friends correct? How close are you to Nakamura?" She bombards poor Roxas with questions.

"Uhh… I've known Demyx and Axel since Primary School, where we first met…."

"Why did you become friends with them? You are an A-grade type of student. And according to your teachers, you are a generally calm and quiet person. The complete opposite of Demyx and Axel."

"We became friends just like that. I don't know why, it just happened." Roxas shrugs.

"Do you also believe that the cause to your friend's action was, in fact, stress? Was he working extra hard to pass this year and wearied himself out?"

Axel sends him a 'go-with-the-flow' stare.

"Uh yeah… I… guess," Roxas sweat-drops.

Axel quickly pushes poor Roxas off-screen again. "It's the school's fault! It's not only Demyx; he is not the only victim here. All of us are. Sooner or later we'll crash our own way out of a window to get out of that prison of torture!" He points at the school building behind him with a grim expression. "If you ask around, you'll probably hear about other students that got hurt for no explainable reason. Sure, all of them will probably babble about some… uh, 'flash of red blur' crap. But that's just because stress messed up their minds, yeah; using your brain too much is bad for you!"

"Go," Axel continues, looking at the reporter gravely. "Go around the school and ask about Marluxia and Vaan. They're other victims of school-pressure. And they got hurt pretty bad, too! Hell, even Mr. Vexen – one of the teachers – was a victim to this!"

Finally, the scene shifts to the reporter standing again in front of the school building. "…And just recently we have confirmed Axel Akuma's allegations to be true. Which brings us to wonder… was Demyx's unfortunate accident this morning really the school management's fault?

-X-X-X-

_**A bit earlier at school today . . .**_

Riku is leaning coolly on his locker while checking his cell phone like usual.

Kairi closes her locker while sighing at him exasperatedly. "Texting your girlfriend of the week?"

He ignores her.

"I heard you're dating Solana again?" Selphie questions curiously, standing next to Kairi. "Is she the one you're gonna ask for the Halloween party?"

Riku nods distractedly without looking up from his cellphone. "You're not asking me to be your date for the party are you?" He questions in a bored manner.

She chuckles, quickly shaking her head. "Nope! I'm totally over you!"

Riku and Kairi sweat-drop.

"I wonder if Sora is going to ask Naminé to be his date…" Kairi wonders out loud after awhile.

Suddenly, they notice Sora coming and focus their attention on the brunette.

Sora stops and blinks at them in confusion. "What's going on?" He asks suspiciously.

"We're just wondering…" Selphie begins slowly before rushing quickly with the next line, as if someone has put her on fast-forward, "Who-are-you-going-to-ask-to-be-your-date-for-the-school's-Halloween-Party?"

If he hasn't already spent a lot of time with Selphie, he wouldn't have understood a word she just said. But now he is used to her hyper ways.

Sora scratches his head thoughtfully and then glances at Kairi, who quickly shakes her head while saying, "No, no way! We're not going as each other's dates anymore! About time you got a REAL date!"

Sora pouts. "Fine… I'll go alone!"

"But what about Naminé?" Selphie asks confusedly.

Sora lets out a heavy sigh. "As if she'd agree to go to a party… where there's _lots_ of people!"

"So you HAVE thought of asking her…" Kairi snickers to herself.

Without warning, Yuffie pops up out of nowhere in front of them. Startled, Sora, Kairi and Selphie take a step back automatically. Riku remains cool, the only one who's used to Yuffie's popping-ups.

"But didn't you get closer to her so you can help her open up!" Yuffie points a finger at Sora accusingly.

"That reminds me!" Selphie yells suddenly, startling the two. "Do _you_ have a date Yuffie?" She asks the black-head curiously.

_Silence_. It seems everyone wants to know about Yuffie's date. Even Riku at the background, he finally forgets about his cellphone and focuses on her response.

"Er…" Yuffie begins nervously while staring uneasily at her freet. "Y-Yeah, I have a date."

Riku frowns instantly while Selphie and Kairi gasp dramatically, nearly jumping from excitement. "Who is it? Who is it?" They ask at the same time.

"Z-Zexion…" Yuffie replies sheepishly, looking the other way with a slight blush.

Selphie gasps again, covering her mouth with her hands. "I used to LOVE that guy! He's so mysterious! I _adore_ mysterious guys!"

Riku frowns deeper. Today seems to get worse and worse for him. _"Zexion? Pish…"_ He feels disgusted.

"So Riku and Yuffie have a date," Sora says before glancing at Selphie and Kairi. "What about you two?"

They shrug sadly.

"Love hasn't found us yet…" Selphie sighs dramatically. Kairi nods sadly in agreement.

"What about your cousin?" Yuffie asks curiously. "I bet he doesn't have a date either… with him being new around here and all."

"Maybe I'll ask him…" Kairi's eyes light up instantly. "He is cute... and normal," she looks at Sora. "You don't mind if I go with your cousin do you?"

Sora shrugs carelessly.

"I wonder who will ask Naminé…" Selphie wonders out loud all of a sudden, instantly catching Sora's complete attention.

"She's up on the rooftop by herself," Yuffie sighs. "No one is going to be able to ask her if she keeps hiding away like that…"

"Maybe someone _already_ asked her…" Selphie replies, grinning hopefully.

Sora freezes. That's very possible, he considers. Since Naminé has been hanging around Kairi, she's been getting a lot of attention. Earlier, while passing the hallways, Sora remembers hearing two guys talking about Naminé…

**Flashback**

"Did you see that blonde chick with Kairi? She's cute," A random dude tells another random dude standing beside him. "Think she'd say yes if I ask her out?"

The other dude shrugs. "You won't know unless you try!"

**End of Flashback**

"_What if that guy's no good? What if something bad happens to Naminé? A-And what if…that random dude really asked her out and she said yes and now she has a date and then she starts liking her date and then they start going out until graduation and then decide to get married and then they have kids and then they live the rest of their life together__**forever**__?"_Sora thinks to himself panicky with a dreadful expression, already having future mental images of Naminé and that random dude happy and 'together forever' while he remains a miserable bachelor for the rest of his life, living with cats.

Almost instantly, Sora dashes off. Destination: the rooftop.

The girls giggle at him while Riku simply shakes his head, muttering, "Idiot…"

-X-X-X-

Sora has just reached the stairs that lead to the rooftop. He climbs them in a hurry. Frankly, he has no idea what to say to Naminé once he gets up there, or if he will be able to face her at all. But right now, all he can think of is going there first and checking if the blonde girl is alright.

All of a sudden – out of nowhere – a flash of red blur appears and strikes Sora's left leg and sends him rolling down the stairs.

"Oww…" Sora moans painfully, sitting upright on the floor under the stairs and caressing his leg. "I think I sprained my ankle…"

-X-X-X-

**Meanwhile, with Roxas and Axel at his apartment…**

"I think we should call Demyx at the hospital… to check how that idiot's doing," Roxas mutters to the red-head lying on the sofa next to him.

Axel calls the hospital and waits for Demyx to pick up.

"A-Axel?" They hear Demyx say weakly as Axel turns on the speaker. "I-Is that you buddy?"

"How ya doin' Dem?" Axel asks playfully, and then quickly, he adds, "Are there any hot nurses around?"

Roxas sweat-drops as Demyx laughs weakly. "A lot!"

"Good. 'Cause I'm goin' there first thing tomorrow!" Axel announces with a smirk.

"S-Stop making me laugh, Ax… I-It _hurts_!" Demyx wheezes painfully.

Suddenly, Demyx hears a strange voice that he isn't sure where exactly it's coming from…

_Deeemmmyxxx . . ._

"…"

_You're going to die in a few daysss…_

"Wh-Who's this?" Demyx asks cautiously.

"What are you talking about dimwit! It's me, Ax! Did that fall hurt your head or something?" Axel says with a chuckle while exchanging a look with Roxas.

_It's usss…The chakraaamsss…_

Demyx freezes, his eyes widening in true horror.

"Demyx? You there?" Axel asks with annoyance. "Are you sleeping over there or what?"

_Tell us where you are…tell usss… teeellll usssss…_

"NO!" Demyx yells suddenly, freaking out Axel and Demyx. "YOU WILL _NEVER_ FIND ME!"

"…Dude, are you okay?" Axel asks with concern this time. "Who the hell are you talking to?"

_We'll find out where you are… oh yes, we will… your friends will tell us!_

"Demyx… do you want us to come over and hang out?" Roxas asks worriedly. Then, faintly, Demyx hears Roxas ask, "Which hospital is Demyx at Ax?"

_Seeeee…_

Just before Axel can reply, Demyx interrupts urgently, "_**NO**_! DON'T SAY IT! DON'T TELL THEM WHICH HOSPITAL!"

"Why not?" Roxas asks confusedly.

"The Cha-Cha-_Chakrams_!" He exclaims hysterically before quietly adding, "They're spying on our conversation as we speak…!"

_Eerie silence._

_Tell…__**TELL**__…_

"O-Okay…" Roxas says nervously, nodding briefly at Axel. "We'll see you soon! Night Demyx!" Click. He hangs up.

-X-X-X-

**Beep, beep…**

Demyx grins to himself victoriously. _"Now those damned Chakrams won't ever find me! HAH!"_

_We WILL find you!_

He gulps hard, that voice seems to be coming from his head, after all…

_We'll search __**every **__hospital in __**every **__district until we __**find **__you!_

Yup, it's coming from his head… Is he crazy?

_And when we find you…__**Demylicious**__… You're done for! Muwahahahaha!_

"Wh-What do you want from me?" Demyx asks hysterically, trembling.

Suddenly – complete silence. No voice inside his head anymore.

He starts staring at the walls around him uneasily…

-X-X-X-

_**Back at Axel's apartment…**_

"They talk?" Axel raises an incredulous eyebrow.

"Nothing surprises me anymore…" Roxas sweat-drops.


	22. Demyx's Crush!

Chapter 22

_Later the same day… Axel is doing some grocery shopping at the supermarket…_

Axel is examining the shelves at the sanitary-ware section, looking for something when Yuffie appears at the end of the aisle.

"Ax?"

"Yo," Axel replies distractedly.

"Sorry about what happened to Dem…" Yuffie tells him apologetically.

"Mhm…" He replies distractedly.

"Saw the news…" she giggles. "Our principal's definitely not gonna be happy with you… were you trying to get them close down the school or something?" She shakes her head, giggling some more.

"Uh-huh…" He replies distractedly again.

Yuffie raises an eyebrow at him curiously. "What are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for my favorite hair gel brand; I just remembered that we ran out of it back at our apartment…"

Yuffie sweat-drops, and then suddenly, as her eyes wander off, she spots Rikku from their school down the aisle and waves at her enthusiastically. "Rikku! Hey!"

Rikku smiles at her hugely in return. "Yuffie! What're you doing here? What a coincidence!"

"Shopping for groceries…" Yuffie replies with a light shrug.

"Umm… Are you two still…?" Rikku asks slowly, looking from Axel to Yuffie.

"Oh, no!" Yuffie retorts with a nervous chuckle, waving her hands in front of her quickly. "We weren't serious to begin with!"

"Ohh… Me see…" Rikku says before glancing at Axel again worriedly. "Really sorry about what happened to Demmy... Is he okay?"

"Oh, he's—" Axel begins to reply casually but then stops himself and turns his eyes away from the shelves to stare at the blonde grimly. "He's in pretty bad shape." He lies convincingly. Yuffie gives him a look but he continues, ignoring her, "The doc said he might not be able to walk again…"

Rikku gasps and covers her mouth. "Oh my God… Poor Demmy!"

Yuffie rolls her eyes in the background as Axel hangs his head low gravely with a 'sympathetic' expression.

"Can I… A-Are we allowed to visit him?" Rikku asks with a hand over her heart.

Axel looks up swiftly at her, suddenly cheerful. "Oh yeah! Anytime! In fact, I think he'll feel a lot better when you see him!"

Rikku nods repeatedly. "I will I will! As soon as I can!"

_After Rikku has left…_

"Ax, you sly dog!" Yuffie nudges the red-head's arm playfully, grinning. "You really know how to act don't you?"

Smirking mysteriously, Axel silently looks back at the shelves.

"What're you going to do when she finds out you lied to her huh?" Yuffie asks with a raised eyebrow.

He shrugs casually while checking the back of a random bottle. "Miraculously healed."

"Pfft! Yeah, right… You're a good friend though." She says the last part with a soft smile, watching him.

Axel turns away from her, looking uneasy. "I don't have the slightest idea of what you're talking about..."

"Pfft! Whatever, softie…." Yuffie mumbles carelessly while stretching.

Axel stiffens, slowly turning to face her. "What did you call me?" He asks eerily.

She grins mischievously. "Softie!"

"I aint a _softie_!" He snaps, glaring down at her. "Got it memorized?"

"But you did it for Demyx didn't you?" Yuffie stares back at him defiantly. "'Cause you know that he _liiikes_ her….Rikku, I mean!"

"Heh…" He looks away, crossing his arms in front of him, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks. "He better thank me, that moron…" Then quietly, he mutters to himself thoughtfully, "Since he's at the hospital guess it's me who has to do the laundry from now on…" He imagines himself in Demyx's infamous pink apron, holding up a frying pan for some reason and grinning like an idiot. _"Hell no!"_His eyes widening in horror._"I'm not cut out for Housewife chores… oh well, it won't hurt to leave it as it for a while…"_

"…And here I thought you were a cold-hearted bitch for not showing at least one iota of concern toward your _bestest_ and _childhood_ friend!" Yuffie looks at him teasingly, eyes narrowed slightly.

"_Demyx's Apron… it has to go, it has to go…"_

"Ax?"

Axel snaps out of his thoughts, kneeling down to check the shelves below before replying coolly, "You're definitely mistaking me for the Fag there."

"Prick? HAH! You've got to be kidding me! He has the coldest heart in the _UNIVERSE_!" She exaggerates, quickly turning hostile at the mention of The Prick.

He snorts. "Yeah right. That dude is so soft, it sickens me!"

"Oh!" Yuffie suddenly remembers something. "By the way Ax… Who are you going to ask to be your date for the Halloween party?"

"I was thinking maybe you…" Axel shrugs.

"No way," Yuffie smirks. "I already _have_ a date!"

Axel frowns, disappointed. "Oh really? Who?"

"Zexion."

Axel raises an eyebrow. "Who's that?"

She sighs. "You know… top student in our school? The genius always carrying a book?"

"Ohhh… You mean the emo faggot with no life…"

She frowns at him. "I think that's _you_."

Axel pretends to be hurt, putting a hand over his heart and smirking. "Ouch."

"So who you gonna ask?"

"I think I'll just go with the fangirls then…" Axel says casually as if the fangirls are one being. Then he gives her a puzzled look all of a sudden. "Seriously… _Zexion_? You could do better."

"What!" Yuffie pouts at him, offended. "He's not bad…"

"It's not that he's good or bad…it's just that… he's _nobody_!" he finishes bluntly. "You never see him… it's like he's not in our class y'know?"

"He's in our class?" Yuffie blinks in surprise.

"See what I'm sayin'!" Axel exclaims. "Yeah he's in our class! We share PE, History and Science!"

"Wow…" Yuffie blinks again to herself in surprise. "I never noticed… where was he all this time?"

"He's a _nobody_. Literally," Axel shrugs again. "I bet you agreed to be his date just to spite your Prick…" He rolls his eyes. He doesn't particularly like Riku.

"Sh-Shut up! Prick has nothing to do with it!" Yuffie says quickly before leaving past him in a huff.

Axel rolls his eyes again, shrugs, and then turns his attention back to the shelves casually to search for his precious hair gel…

-X-X-X-

_Night, Sora's House_

Roxas helps a limping Sora into the house and gently lets him sit on the nearest sofa.

"First Demyx and now you…" Roxas sighs while slumping down next to Sora. "You two have really bad luck…"

Sora frowns down at his ankle sadly. "Now I can't participate in Friday's basketball match. Coach will be very disappointed…"

"It's your fault. You're always running all over the place."

"I was worried about Naminé OK?" Sora runs a frustrated hand through his hair. "She's meek around other people. They can easily boss her around like how Isabella did before… she'd be an easy target for any guy. I was worried that someone would take advantage of her…"

"…" Roxas stares at his cousin quietly before muttering, "You really care about her huh?" He smiles softly to himself. "You remind me a lot of someone…"

Sora turns to look at his cousin confusedly. "Remind you of who?"

Roxas stares deeply into Sora's eyes before quickly shaking his head and getting up to leave. "No one, forget it."

"Wait, where you going?" Sora asks quickly. "You have to help me up to my room before dad comes and sees my ankle!"

"Shower," Roxas stops on the way and turns to the brunette while raising an eyebrow. "And why don't you want him to know?"

"Because he's looking forward to see me play on Friday…" Sora mutters at the floor dejectedly. "Basketball is like the only thing I'm good at that makes my dad proud of me…"

"Knowing your dad, he'll find out about your leg soon enough anyway…"

"Maybe it'll heal before the game!" Sora shrugs hopefully. "Who knows?"

Roxas sighs tiredly before going back to help Sora up again.

-X-X-X-

_A bit later_

Roxas is about – just about – to take off his boxers to step into the shower when Sora busts in, startling the blonde. He closes the door panicky behind him.

"What the!"

Sora is on him in a second, covering his mouth. "SHH!"

"Hey! Don't touch me!" Roxas hisses irritatedly while struggling to push away his cousin.

"Sora!" His father's angry voice comes from the hallway. "I just got a call from your coach! You have some explaining to do!"

Sora gulps nervously, sweat-dropping.

Roxas sweat-drops. "Go hide somewhere else you idiot! Can't you see I'm taking a shower!"

"SHHH!" Sora quickly shushes at Roxas again.

"Sora? Is that you in the bathroom?" Squall's voice is drawing nearer.

Panicking, Sora pushes his cousin with him to the bathtub. Roxas trips backwards and falls hard on his back, the shelf by the shower shakes and a shampoo bottle falls on Roxas' face, pouring all its contents over the poor blonde's eyes.

"My eyes!" Roxas exclaims, quickly trying to rub off the shampoo off stinging eyes.

Sora stares down at his cousin dumbly before frantically turning on the shower to help Roxas clean his eyes off the shampoo. Bad mistake. Cold, icy water rains down on both of them.

"EEEEK!" Both of them shriek like girls while cringing violently.

Suddenly, Sora slips and falls forward down on top of his cousin in an awkward position.

That's exactly when Squall busts into the bathroom and sees them. He freezes, gaping at them at the doorway.

"What in Mother's name are you two _DOING_…?" Squall breathes out in horror, glancing over at Roxas' semi-naked body pinned down under his son's.

Sora turns his head to stare back at him stupidly as Roxas is still struggling to wipe the shampoo off his eyes.

"U-Uhm…" Sora clears his throat, grinning awkwardly. He reaches out for a bar of soap and starts pretending to scrub Roxas' back with it. "Just thought I'd give Roxas a hand…? Ehehe…heh…" He stops laughing weakly and shrinks cowardly at the sight of his father's dark, cold glare.

-X-X-X-

_Later in the kitchen, after Sora and Roxas are dried and dressed…_

Sora's father is sitting opposite of them at the kitchen table, glaring at them with silent fury.

Rinoa finishes treating Roxas' eyes and smiles at him softly. "There, all done!"

Roxas frowns. "I still can't see!"

"You're temporarily blind. But the effect should wear off in a day or two, don't worry," Sora's mother assures him, taking the seat next to her husband.

"It's all your stinkin' fault!" Roxas hisses, turning his head to glare at his cousin accusingly – only, he's turned the wrong direction.

Sora snickers to himself, earning an even more threatning glare from his father. He stops immediately and tries to keep a blank expression.

"How does he look? Does he look guilty? He better be!" Roxas huffs.

Sora finds it hard to keep a blank expression anymore when Roxas is saying all this while still facing the wrong way. "Hey Roxas," Sora waves a hand at his cousin while grinning mischeviously. "I'm over here!"

Squall coughs into his fist warningly. Sora stops immediately and straightens himself again.

"More importantly, I want an explanation for what I just saw in the bathroom…" Squall says to his son.

"I told you, it was an accident!" Sora exclaims with an innocent shrug.

"Are you saying that it was also an _accident_ last time when I came into your room and found your cousin half-naked on your bed?"

"Wait, Dad… are you saying that I'm like _that_ with _him_?" Sora says incredulously.

The two cousins exchange a glance before shuddering in disgust at the same time.

"Honey," Rinoa says tenderly to Sora. "You're quite popular in school and you have many female admirers… But we've never seen you accept any of them. So we've been wondering…" She exchanges a quick glance with Squall before looking back at their son sympathetically. "Are you gay?"

Sora gapes at his parents speechlessly while Roxas stifles a laugh, still facing the wrong way though.

"M-Mom… Dad…" Sora stammers from embarrassment. "I like girls _okay_!"

Squall and Rinoa relax a bit.

"Can we go to our rooms now?" Sora asks impatiently. Squall nods at him his permission.

"Wait," Squall calls after him suddenly as Sora is about to exit the kitchen. "We saw the news….that student involved in the accident, Demyx, isn't he your friend? Aren't you going to visit him at the hospital?"

"Yeah, I'm planning to tomorrow…" Sora replies before glancing at Roxas. "What about you? Are you going to see him?"

"I'll see him…" Roxas retorts, and then, glaring at another random wrong direction with his red, swollen eyes, he adds grudgingly, "Not that it's possible!"

Sora laughs nervously and turns to leave again.

"Oh and Sora," his father stops him. "Stop molesting your cousin, understand?"

It's Roxas' turn to snicker at the brunette, who blushes embarrassedly while on his way limping to leave the kitchen.

"Oh and Sora…" His father stops him once more.

Sora is irritated at this point but he stops and turns patiently to face his father again, waiting.

"I can't believe you were stupid enough to hurt your ankle just before the big game."

Sora's head slumps down miserably.

X-X-X

_Next day, morning…_

Axel visits Demyx at the hospital, bringing with him Demyx's favorite guitar.

"You brought it? Thanks, man!" Demyx beams at his wild-haired friend as he takes the guitar from him. He tests it and grins. "Awesome! Something to keep me entertained in this boring place!"

He places the guitar to one side and looks back at Axel, leaning back on the chair near the hospital bed comfortably with his arms behind his head and his eyes closed contently.

"Hey Ax…" Demyx begins nervously, scratching his nose.

Axel opens his eyes a bit and stares at his friend tediously. "Hm?"

"R-Rikku came a while ago…" He tells him, blushing.

The red-head's eyes widen in surprise. He quickly straightens himself. "Oh is that so?" He asks slowly with a hint of a smug smirk. "What happened?"

"She told me that 'life's not over just because I can't walk again'…I tried to tell her my legs are going to be fine, but she still made a big fuss over them for some reason…" Demyx mumbles confusedly.

Axel sweat-drops at that, managing a small 'innocent' smile.

"I also couldn't tell her about my feelings… I'm such a coward…" Demyx mumbles miserably, clutching his fists tightly in front of him. "But," He smiles softly to himself. "I was really glad she came…"

Axel smiles and then smacks his friend's head lightly, catching the blonde off-guard. "Wipe that smile off your face, you look like an idiot!" He tells him jokingly.

Demyx chuckles sheepishly while rubbing his head. Then he stops and stares down at his hands. "Why _did_ she come…? I don't think she was ever aware of my existence before…" He wonders out loud quietly, puzzled.

"I wonder…" Axel murmurs smugly, smirking to himself again. Suddenly, he gets up to leave. "Anyway, I'm going to 'play' with a few hot nurses before I get outta here, see ya!"

Demyx grins weakly at that. "See ya man…"

Axel stops abruptly at the entrance though and turns back. "Demyx?"

"Yeah?" Demyx blinks at his friend curiously.

"That pink apron of yours…" Axel starts carefully.

"YOU'LL _NEVER_ FIND IT!" The blonde exclaims instinctively, getting all worked-up.

Demyx has a tendency to react sensitively when his precious pink apron is involved. He knows how badly Axel wants to destroy it, that's why he's been hiding it carefully all this time.

Axel whirls around angrily. "You sneaky little bitch… where the hell did you hide it? I turned the entire friggin' apartment upside down searching for that hideous thing!"

"IT WAS A GIFT FROM MY LATE MOTHER! I'LL CHERISH IT FOREVER!"

"Your mother is still alive moron!"

Demyx pouts childishly, crossing his arms in front of him. "Still… you will NEVER find it!"

Axel glares back at the blonde intensely, wanting to intimidate him. When that fails, he relaxes a bit and tries a different approach. "Maybe the chakrams will leave you if we get rid of it..."

Demyx blinks stupidly. "You think so?"

The red-head nods. "It's what makes you a fag, remember, the chakrams are fag exterminators. They go after fags."

"Then how come they didn't come after you yet?"

Axel glares at him darkly. "I am not a fag."

"But you wear make—"

"WAR PAINT!" Axel yells frustratedly. "IT'S WAR PAINT! Got it memorized?"

Demyx stares at him cluelessly.

"And besides," The red-head continues confidently. "I dig chicks and chicks dig me. Look at you," He stares at the clueless blonde with a sigh. "You've never even brushed shoulders with a girl!"

Demyx gulps dreadfully before choking out, "G-G-Girls?"

Axel sighs again. "Remind me to fix your phobia of girls after you get released from here. Maybe that's another reason why the chakrams think you're a fag."

Demyx nods miserably, head hanging low.

"Don't worry," Axel reassures, smirking. "I'll set you up with that Rikku chick you dig so much!"

"REALLY?" Demyx beams happily at the red-head. "Axel…" He stares at his best friend with teary eyes. "I-I don't know what to say…"

"DAMMIT!" Axel winces at him with disgust. "Don't cry! You're a guy!" He sits back with a scowl. "Geez… no wonder the chakrams are after you, you have so many faggish qualities!"

"You're the best friend I've ever had…" Demyx continues sobbingly, sniffing. "You're always there for me…"

Axel blinks at him in horror. "Ugh… I'm getting some gay vibes…" He mutters, slowly and cautiously rising up.

"…Through thick and thin…"

"OH GOD, STOP!" Axel palms his face, truly disgusted.

"…I love you, man!" Demyx sobs on his arm like the drama king he is.

"What the _FUCK_!" Axel cringes, rushing to the exit. He stops shortly before leaving, spluttering over his shoulder, "You sicken me!" And then hurriedly exits the room.

As the door closes, Demyx shouts, "I KNOW YOU LOVE ME! DON'T WORRY THE MELODIES OF YOUR HEART REACHES ME!"

Axel winces at every word at the hallway. Some passing nurses giggle to themselves while glancing at the red-head.

"I am completely straight!" He tells them quickly, not wanting to lose his chance with them.

They giggle some more as they scurry off.

"Dammit!"

-X-X-X-

After Axel's left, Demyx turns to his guitar and attempts to play some tunes on it until the phone by his hospital bed rings. He stops, places it down beside him and picks up the phone casually.

"Hello?"

_It's__**us**__… THE CHAKRAMSSS!_

Demyx stiffens with fear, his face ashen. "Wh-Wh-What do you want from me?"

_You're one lucky bitch! Turns out we have several important businesses to attend to before we can get to you. We'll be there in ten days._

"TEN DAYS?"

_Yesss…_They cackle viciously.

"TEN DAYS?"

_Get ready, bitch!_

"_TEN _DAYS!"

_Yes you idiot! How many times do we have to say it? You only have ten days left to live and no more!_

"B-B-But… I have a dentist appointment in ten days!" The blonde exclaims dumbly.

…

_You want us to come earlier?_

"That'd be best…"

_Okay... We'll try to make our business quick. Expect us in less than seven days. We cool?_

"Cool."

_Same place?_

"Yeah."

_Cool. We'll see you then._

"See ya!"

_Bye._

"Bye!" With an idiotic smile, he hangs up the phone and stares ahead dumbly for several minutes before it finally clicks in. He gasps loudly and quickly dials Axel's number.

As soon as Axel picks up the phone, Demyx yells in one breath, "AXEL HELP ME THEY'RE GOING TO KILL ME IN SEVEN DAYS!"

_Silence._

"The Ring prank again?" Axel says tediously. "Dude, I told you it's just not funny anymore…"

"AX, LISTEN TO ME! TH-TH-THE CHAKRAMS! THEY CALLED ME AGAIN!"

"Seriously?"

"THEY'RE COMING FOR ME IN SEVEN DAYS! I'M GONNA DIE! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIIE!" He sobs miserably.

"Demyx, calm the friggin' down! You must be imagining things! The fall must've hurt your head or something!"

"W-W-WAIT A MINUTE! AXEL!" Demyx exclaims suddenly, remembering something.

"Hm?" Axel questions impatiently.

"Y-Your Grandpa! You have a Grandpa, don't you? 'Cause I remember –"

"No," Axel replies flatly, sure of himself. "I do not have a Grandpa."

"Then how was your father born...?" Demyx questions confusedly.

Axel hums thoughtfully for a while before muttering, "True… some unlucky fellow had to breed with my Grandma. He must've died from her horridness before I was able to meet him though…"

"But I remember—"

"I do _not_ have a grandfather alright?" Axel retorts with annoyance.

"But _someone_ must be controlling those chakrams!"

"Since when did you turn out to be a genius?" Axel says sarcastically. "Yes, someone must be. My Grandma. Her evil spirit still lingers on. She's a menace to humanity, but I long knew that."

"You know this wouldn't have started if you were a little nicer to your Grandma!"

"Hey Dem, talk to you later!" Axel tells him distractedly all of a sudden. "Hey Paine, lookin' hot…" He hangs up.

Demyx stares at the phone in annoyance for a while. "Damn him… he has it easy, even though _he_ is the true evil mastermind!" And then, miserably, he sobs to himself, "I'm innocent!"

"Hiya baby!" A visitor exclaims from the doorway.

He looks up. It's his mom. Behind her, enters his father and the rest of his large family. Demyx is raised in a family mostly consisting of girls. Occasionally, Axel blames this fact for Demyx's lack of manliness. And it's because his is family is so large – that it's felt like being raised in a zoo – that Demyx has been allowed to move in with Axel at his apartment.

_Later, while Demyx's grandmother is knitting something by his bedside…_

Demyx stares at her warily as she is knitting for the longest time. Finally, he asks, "Hey grandma, do you love me?"

Grandma looks up and smiles at him tenderly. "Why of course dear."

"Do you think you will ever think of extracting revenge on me after you die?"

"Why of course not dear…"

"Do you have a fetish for old weapons?"

"Why of course not dear…"

Demyx relaxes and sits back. His grandma holds up what she's knit so far for him to see.

"How do you like this hat—"

"AHH!" Demyx yelps, paranoid, crawling backwards on his bed fearfully. "WEAPON! KILLING INTENT! STAY AWAY!"

"Oh, this? But this is just a needle dear…" She blinks at him confusedly.

Demyx sighs with relief when he makes sure it's just an ordinary needle and relaxes.

His father, sitting on a chair in the background, reading the newspaper, stares at him angrily. "What is the matter with you Demyx? You've always been nice to grandma!"

Demyx laughs nervously before muttering silently to himself, "Maybe I've really lost it…"

_Later, after Demyx's family have left…_

The nurse comes in with two bouquets of flowers. She places them on the bed, near Demyx.

"The blonde girl that came earlier ordered these for you," The nurse tells him, pointing at one of the bouquets before turning and exiting the room.

Demyx almost burst from joy. He quickly grabs Rikku's bouquet and reads the card:

_Get well soon okay? :)_

_Your friend,_

_Rikku_

"'Friend'…?" Demyx mumbles sadly, heartbroken.

He places down Rikku's bouquet and moves on to the other one, curious to see who it's from. With beautiful, very neat and elegant writing, the card says:

_We hope you die soon! :D_

_Love,_

_Chakrams_

He blinks stupidly at it for a while, and then pales in horror at the rather late realization. _"W-WAIT A MINUTE! TH-THEY KNOW WHICH HOSPITAL AM AT!"_

-X-X-X-

_Meanwhile, outside the hospital…_

Sora and Roxas are crossing the street to the hospital where Demyx is at. They're going to join with the others: Kairi, Yuffie, Selphie and Riku, waiting for them at the other side.

"Roxas, hold my hand…" Sora orders his cousin seriously, holding out his own hand. "You can't see, so hold my hand."

Roxas stares at him like he's insane. "Hell no!"

"Why? You've let me guide you all the way here!"

"I can't let you hold my hand while we cross the street!" Roxas retorts incredulously.

"Come on Rox," Sora urges him tiredly. "Hold my hand!"

"I said I won't let you hold my hand while we cross the street! We'll look ridiculous!"

"Hold my hand!"

"No! I can cross the street without your help!" Roxas exclaims stubbornly.

He attempts to take his first step but then an old lady on a Harley whooshes by in front of Roxas and almost rams him. She yells back at Roxas over her shoulder, "ARE YOU BLIND?"

"It's dangerous!" Sora snaps at Roxas like a worried parent and holds out his hand again. "Just take my hand already!"

With a humiliated and defeated sigh, he takes it.

_At the other side of the street…_

The others observe the scene from the distance, gaping at it.

Yuffie doubles over with laughter and clutches her stomach. "BWAHAHAHAHAHA! WHERE'S THE CAMERA? I WANT A CAMERA! NEVERMIND, I'LL TAKE IT WITH MY CELLPHONE!" She quickly reaches out for it and starts taking pictures.

Sora and Roxas arrive. Upon hearing their giggles and snickers, Roxas blushes deeply from embarrassment and humiliation. "Y-You've been watching?"

They stop and blink at him confusedly.

"Wait, Axel isn't with you is he?" Roxas asks worriedly. "He'd have a field day if he saw this…"

"Don't worry, he's not here," Sora tells him and he relaxes.

Yuffie waves a hand over Roxas' face. "Why can't he see…?" She murmurs in bewilderment.

"He's blind," Sora tells them bluntly.

"WHAT?" Their eyes widen in shock.

"Temporarily!" Sora adds quickly, grinning.

"Oh…" They relax.

"Your poor cousin!" Selphie holds his arm sympathetically, teary-eyed.

"What happened?" Kairi asks softly, eying Roxas with concern.

"Accident!" Sora tells them nervously, throwing a hand behind his head and looking away, a weak grin on his face. "He got some shampoo in his eyes while taking a shower!"

Roxas glares at him silently. He wants to say it's his fault, but he can't without having to reveal the fact that his cousin has barged on him as he's taking a shower.

"Guys!" Yuffie exclaims suddenly, standing in the center. "Enough chat, let's go see Dem! I miss that knucklehead!"

Everyone leaves to enter the hospital, forgetting all about poor Roxas. He remains standing where he is, lost and alone.

"Um… guys…?" He looks around him uneasily.

"Come on Roxy!" Selphie skips back toward him and takes his hand, the bubbly smile never leaving her face. "I'll take your hand!"

Roxas sighs in defeat and lets the brunette girl lead the way.

-X-X-X-

"WHAAT?" The gang cries in shock at the news the nurse behind the counter has just told them.

"You can't find Demyx?" Roxas asks in disbelief.

The nurse sweat-drops at him because it looks like he's talking to the decoration plant on the desk instead of her.

Smiling politely, Kairi turns his head to face the right direction. He frowns irritatedly, mentally cursing Sora for all the humiliations he's earned today. From being helped to dress and fed by Sora himself to this.

"He has escaped from his room a while ago," The nurse explains, referring to Demyx. "We have no idea where he is at the moment, but rest assured, we are certain that he is still somewhere inside the hospital."

"Why would he escape…?" Yuffie questions out loud, puzzled.

She shrugs. "He was screaming about a written death threat in a card attached to a flower bouquet that he'd supposedly received. But we've found nothing of the sort. He has only received one flower bouquet recently from a girl from his school. We've checked it too, and it's completely harmless. Your friend must be suffering from paranoia."

"Alright, thanks," Sora tells her before turning to his friends. "Now what do we do?"

Selphie is looking around them with a heartbroken expression.

Everyone stares at her worriedly.

"What's wrong Selph?" Kairi asks the brunette girl softly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Tears fall down Selphie's face. She turns to Kairi and sniffs, "Wh-Why is that child hairless? D-Does he have cancer? I-Is he going to d-die?"

"Aww… Selphie…" Kairi squeezes the brunette's shoulder to comfort her. "It breaks my heart too, but you have to be strong! It's a hospital."

Riku lets out a weary sigh. "We shouldn't have brought Selphie with us."

Yuffie instantly sends him a death glare. "Insensitive _Prick_!"

"Guys, Demyx is probably fine," Roxas tells them suddenly. "He can't get out of the hospital, and his family will deal with this sooner or later. I say we go to school now before we're late."

"Roxas has a point," Riku mutters. "I have basketball practice I can't miss."

"SHUT UP PRICK!" Yuffie snaps at the silver-head. "Nobody asked for your opinion!"

Stepping away from the now calm Selphie, Kairi says, "So Roxas, Riku, Selphie and I vote for going to school. That makes it five against two!" She gives them a smug smile. "Overruled!"

"WHAAT?" Sora and Yuffie cringe disappointedly.

"THAT IS SO NOT FAIR!" Yuffie exclaims. "PRICK'S VOTE SHOULD NOT BE COUNTED!"

"Fair, _he_ says," Riku mutters mockingly. Fortunately, she hasn't heard him.

"But what about Demyx?" Yuffie and Sora whine, eager to find any excuse to stay as long as they can out of school.

"We can come visit him later," Selphie says, following the rest out of the hospital.

Out of the blue, a mummified-looking Demyx pops up in front of them. He looks tensed, out of breath, but pretty much healthy.

"D-_Demyx_…?" The gang gasps in shock, gawking at him.

Selphie is the quickest to react out of all of them. "DEM-DEM!" She exclaims gleefully, jumping forward to hug him.

Demyx stares at her open arms with wide, horrified eyes. "I-IT!" He shrieks before quickly sidestepping her. "S-Stay away!" He points a shaking finger at her as he steps back in terror. "G-GIRLY CREATURE! STAY BACK! SHOO! _DON'T COME ANY CLOSER_!"

"What's up with Demyx?" Sora sweat-drops next to Roxas. "Why does he look scared of Selphie?"

"Dunno," Yuffie shrugs, equally puzzled. "Selphie's hug can't be _that_ bad…"

"He has girl-phobia," Roxas explains quietly, quickly earning the gang's attention. "He can't come in physical contact with girls. That truly terrifies him."

"Why?" Kairi blinks curiously. "Was it something he got naturally or was there some kind of experience…?"

"When he was little," Roxas continues explaining quietly. "He was molested by their nanny. Since his family's big and his parents were too busy to take care of all of them, he was mostly left with that nanny…"

"How do you know? You weren't friends with Axel and Demyx until primary school," Sora blinks confusedly.

"Axel told me," Roxas replies. "And I'm not sure if what else he said is true: he tracked that nanny down and set her wig on fire."

Everyone sweat-drops, thinking, _"Knowing Axel, it's probably true…"_

"I can understand why he did that…" Yuffie mutters sympathetically.

"One thing strikes me as odd though…" Kairi says a bit confusedly. "I've always seen Demyx with Axel flirting with every hot girl they lay their eyes on… Especially Nurse Tifa..."

"Axel's been trying to get him over his phobia for a long time now," Roxas explains. "But no matter how far they go, or how much Demyx would like to pretend he likes the company of girls, he still can't get over his fear and get physically closer to them."

"Poor Demmy…" Kairi frowns.

"Wow, Axel is a good friend…" Sora blurts out in awe at the same time.

"Of course he is," Roxas retorts. "He's a great friend. You just have to get used to his quirky ways…"

"Must be tough on Dem… being around a manwhore like Axel…" Yuffie sweat-drops.

"Actually, Axel lies. Half of the women he said he slept with... he didn't really sleep with them," Roxas tells her quietly.

"WHAT?" Yuffie exclaims a bit too loudy as Kairi and Sora's eyes widen in surprise in the background. "Lying bastard! I knew it! He just likes to brag around!"

"I always knew that, no surprise…" Riku mutters boredly, earning a death glare from the black-head.

"Are you challenging me Prick? Huh, _pal_? You think you know everything _chief_?" She rolls up her sleeve in a challenging boyish stance.

"I don't hit girls…" Riku addresses her coolly, "But since technically I don't consider you as one, I guess it won't be a problem…" He takes a threatening step toward her. She shrinks a bit, but stands her ground stubbornly. They share a small heated glaring contest before Kairi distracts them.

"But how come Demyx thinks that Axel is a virgin? I mean, I remember hearing that Axel used to date a girl from school before we came in," Kairi asks confusedly. "Surely Demyx knew that he wasn't a, y'know..."

"Demyx knows..." Roxas explains. "But he doesn't like how Axel tarnishes his own reputation just to help him get over his phobia, so he's trying to make everyone believe that Ax is actually 'pure'."

"Wow, so he really is a good friend…" Yuffie blinks in awe.

"Their friendship is beautiful..." Kairi smiles. "I never knew Axel was such a caring person."

Suddenly, Selphie stops chasing Demyx, tired out. Demyx stops too and starts panting heavily.

"Wha… Whatever!" Selphie pouts childishly. "I hate you! I don't ever want to speak to you again! _Hmph_!" She turns away in a huff.

"A-All that… because… I don't want your hug…?" Demyx wheezes out incredulously.

"You act like I'm repulsive!"

"That's not—"

"Do you despise me that much…?" She sniffs, hurt. "Y-You and Axel always call me 'it'! Do you think I don't care?" She asks in a shaky voice. "I only pretend like I don't but you have no idea how much that hurts me!"

"Shit… You're crying…" He palms half his face shamefully. "Y-You don't understand… I—"

"I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT! I HATE YOU!"

He hangs his head low, hiding his anguished expression.

"…" The others watch silently, some sighing.

"Never mind…" Demyx sighs out tiredly, turning from her and to the others. "Are you guys here to take me?" He asks, eyes sparkling hopefully.

"No," They reply bluntly in unison.

His head slumps disappointedly.

"We're here just to visit…" Sora tells him.

"How come you healed so fast? It's been only one day!" Kairi exclaims in awe.

"I only got a broken arm, the rest is all small bruises!" He tells them quickly, impatient. "Anyway, please take me with you! I'm begging you! It's _so_ boring here!"

They exchange uncertain glances.

"Look! I can walk!" He demonstrates in front of them. "I can run!" He demonstrates again, making himself look like an idiot. "See, I'm perfectly fine!"

"Wow…" They breathe out in amazement, gaping at him. "He is truly _indestructible_!"

"Look, I can't stay here any longer!" Demyx tells them panicky, looking around them uneasily. "I'll lose my head in this place!"

Yuffie snorts. "You've never had it in the first place."

"Don't worry about the paper work; my parents are taking care of everything! Just… get me out of here! Take me with you guys!" He pleads desperately.

They exchange glances again.

Sora shrugs. "Let's take him with us."

Demyx beams with joy.

Kairi winks playfully at him. "Get on a wheelchair Demyx! We're taking you with us to school!"

He throws his arms in the air happily and then stops abruptly and gawks at her in horror.

"E-_Eh_…? _S-SCHOOL_?"

-X-X-X-

_Twilight High…_

They come into the school building to find the hallways empty. First period has already started. There's only one person strolling about.

"Axel!" Sora exclaims as soon as they spot him. Axel turns around to face them coolly.

"Huh? Axel?" The temporarily blind Roxas blinks in surprise. "Why are you here?"

"Why are you talking to the locker?" Axel shoots back with a raised eyebrow. "Whoa, man!" He leans back at the sight of Roxas' red, swollen eyes. "You look like you haven't slept in a century!"

Roxas chuckles nervously. "L-Long story…"

"I love long stories. Do tell."

"Um, some shampoo got in my eyes while I was taking a shower…"

The red-head burst outs laughing. "So now you can't see?"

Roxas shakes his head. "I can see a bit better now… it's just all… blurry…"

Axel grins evilly. "Niice."

"What's nice about it?" Roxas snaps.

Axel points behind him at a few girls hiding behind the lockers, watching them like hawks. "Now your fangirls will have the advantage!"

Roxas freezes, his face losing color. Everyone glances at him sympathetically, especially Sora, who knows how scary the fangirls can be pretty well out of experience.

"G-Guys…?" Roxas asks, gulping nervously.

"Hm?"

"Don't you freaking dare leave me."

Axel bursts out laughing again. "Hilarious." He stops when he catches sight of Demyx on the wheelchair being pushed by Kairi.

"_Demyx_?" He raises a surprised eyebrow. "What the hell you doin' here? You have an excuse not to be here and you waste it by coming back to this hellish prison of torture? _Geez_. Have a life!"

"Why are YOU here?" Demyx retorts, blinking at his childhood friend in confusion. "I thought you were ditching school again…"

"I am…" He breaks into a devilish smirk. "I'm only here to check on Teef!"

Everyone sweat-drops.

"Thought to ask her to come see Dem with me," he shrugs, and everyone exchanges a small, knowing smile.

He smirks pervertedly, shrugging. "Just planning to 'play' with her y'see."

"Yeah sure," Kairi smiles teasingly, causing Axel's eye to twitch irritatedly.

Suddenly, Demyx wheels away from the gang and turns around briefly. "I'm going to stay at the music club. See you guys!"

"Guess we should head to our classes now…" Kairi tells the others. They nod and start to disperse.

-X-X-X-

_Meanwhile, at Rikku's class…_

Rikku is sitting behind her desk, looking bored as hell. She glances up at the clock on the wall, still 20 minutes to go. She sighs miserably to herself.

Suddenly, two students – the same fangirls spying on Roxas earlier – enter the class.

Their teacher, Mrs. Maleficent, scans them up and down and then glares at them angrily. "Where have you been… spawns of the devil?"

One of the fangirls bursts the bubblegum she's been chewing. "Like, we told you we were going to the bathroom!"

"Silence slut!" Maleficent booms. "Back to your seats!"

Neither of them flinches, they're used by Mrs. Maleficent ways by now. They look bored, if anything. Casually, they walk back to their seats.

She watches their every step menacingly. "The devil has already reserved a seat for you in hell, oh I assure you!"

After they've sit down, the class continues 'normally'.

"Psst! Suzie! Tell Caitlin that we've just spotted Riku, Roxas, Sora _and_ Axel enter the school! They're here!"

Said Suzie hides a squeal and quickly turns around to deliver the message.

Rikku perks up instantly after hearing that. She blinks in surprise. "Axel is here…?" She mumbles to herself before smiling happily and looking down at the sketch she's absentmindedly drawn on her book.

The name Axel with hearts all over it.

Love is certainly in the air, but then suddenly, sensing the 'disgusting' aura, Maleficent brings them back to reality by smacking her desk with her book. The whole class goes silent.

"Students…" Maleficent starts eerily. "Have any of you lost a beloved one?"

Everyone pales.

"What is she talking about?"

"She is conspiring to kill our families!"

"She's the devil herself!"

"She scares me…"

"Why the pale faces?" Maleficent smiles wickedly. "Death is a natural occurrence. It is normal. We are all subjected to death. Death is going to come to all of us some day. It could be today…" She glances around at her students' terrified faces. "It could be tomorrow… The next hour… _Now_…"

Some of the students sitting in front gulp nervously.

"Who knows," their teacher continues. "The ceiling might fall on us and kill us all. The school could go on fire and burn us all to death. There is no telling when the grim reaper will decide it is time… it is time for us to _PERISH_!" She yells the last word suddenly, causing the students to cringe backwards in their seats, startled.

Seifer raises a carefree hand.

"Yes, Worshipper of Satan?" Maleficent addresses him darkly.

"Bathroom," Seifer tells her grumpily.

"Hold it in."

He narrows his eyes at her intimidatingly. "I _really_ have to go."

She shakes her head calmly, unaffected. "Under no circumstance I will allow you to leave during my classroom, in the middle of a very important lesson that is likely to benefit you for the upcoming tests."

"I said I _REALLY_ have to go witch!"

"And I'm really sorry but I won't allow it. You have an entire break later to satisfy your sinful needs."

"Pissing is sinful!" He exclaims outrageously.

"How dare you speak of urine in my class!" She booms again dramatically.

"What the fuck? You've got some issues," Seifer glares at her like she's mad. "We might as well die here! Would you give a shit _then_?"

She shrugs casually. "If you die, we'll just have to step over your body or pull it to somewhere else where it won't bother our class!" She says it confidently, like she really means it.

"…" Seifer stares at her speechlessly. "You're a freak!"

Meanwhile, Rikku turns to her friend Paine behind her. "She scares me!"

"More importantly, have you heard the news? Axel is here," Paine winks suggestively.

Rikku smiles shyly.

"I messaged him and told him to come," Paine says, smiling. "I knew you wanted to see him."

Rikku hits her friend playfully, embarrassed.

"So are you going to see him?"

"Maybe later… after music club."

-X-X-X-

_Later, at the Anti-Riku club…_

"Ahh, so boring!" Yuffie exclaims out loud, facing the ceiling while lying on the desk at the head of the class. "It's the second year and still no members… Huh?" She notices a note being slid from under the door and jumps off the desk to pick it up and read it:

_We request your attendance in a meeting at our club._

_-The Riku Fan Club_

She rips the note to shreds and tosses the remains over her shoulder. "Hmph! Let's see what those bitches are up to!" Rolling up her sleeves, she marches out of the room.

-X-X-X-


	23. Closer

Chapter 23

_Sora parts with the others to visit Nurse Tifa at the infirmary…_

"Alright, all done!" Tifa pats Sora's bandaged ankle gently and sits back, smiling.

"Thanks," he sets his leg on the floor and starts to get up.

"Sora, hold on…"

Sora stops near the exit and turns around questioningly. "Huh?"

"How is everything going on with you and Naminé?"

He stares at the floor silently, frowning…

_Meanwhile, with Kairi and Naminé standing in the middle of the hallway_

"I'm going to see Tifa. You can go ahead to the cafeteria without me Kairi," Naminé tells the red-head softly, smiling.

"You sure?" Kairi asks a bit disappointedly. "What do you want with Mrs. Lockhart anyway?"

"M-My father can't pick me up today, so he told me to ask Tifa to take me with her instead…"

"I see… Okay!" Kairi starts to leave, waving back at the blonde. "See you there!"

She waits for Kairi to leave before making her way to the nurse office's direction. Just as she is about to open the door, she hears familiar voices inside and stops, listening intently…

"I understand, it's difficult," Tifa sighs.

"I've never had this kind of thing before. I mean… The people I know accept me almost right away so I didn't have any problems. But Naminé is different… no matter how hard I try, she doesn't seem to accept me!"

_Brief silence._

A depressed sigh from Sora. "I'm trying to get her to accept me and become part of my friends…I think she'll be very happy with us." _Another brief silence._ "And I don't really care about what the others think! Classifying people as 'popular' or 'unpopular' is just stupid and it doesn't matter! I just wish Naminé can see that too…"

Namine is frowning at the door. _"Sora, you stupid clown…" _

-X-X-X-

_Meanwhile with the others at the school cafeteria…_

The cafeteria is almost completely deserted because most of the students are having classes.

"Why you eying my banana prick? Wanna start a fork fight? Huh!" Yuffie stands up, shaking her fork at the calmly messaging with his cell phone Riku. "I saw you eying my banana! You aint gettin' ma banana! I have my eyes on you mister!"

"I don't give a shit about your banana," Riku replies boredly, eyes still focused on his cell phone.

"LIAR! You plannin' to steal my banana, admit it!" She hugs the banana close to her chest protectively.

"Look," he looks away from his precious cell phone patiently. "If I want a banana, I'd go and get one for myself. There's nothing significant about your banana."

"You want to steal my banana to spite me!" She points an accusing dramatic finger at him.

Abruptly, he leans his head forward extremely close to Yuffie's, staring back at her big brown eyes coolly.

She freezes, swallowing nervously at the extreme closeness of his perfect face. "Wh-What?"

Everyone else stops eating/chatting and turns their attention to them.

Suddenly, Riku smirks at her.

She quickly covers her eyes with her hands. "ACK! YOUR TEETH! SO WHITE, SO DAZZLING! DAMN YOUUU PRIIIICK!"

Riku smiles softly. Kairi notes the genuine smile on his face and frowns slightly, feeling jealous that only she can make him openly smile genuinely like that.

"Yuffie. Will you ever get over your hate for me?" Riku asks with a sigh.

"NEVER!" Comes an almost instant reply.

He frowns. "You… Why do you hate me so much in the first place?"

"You know why Prick! You know why!"

The smug smirk is back on his face. "You loved me so much that you had to make yourself hate me just so you can fall for me again?" He jokes arrogantly, referring to her old fangirl self.

She pretends to gag. Everyone else laughs, except for Kairi, who only manages a small smile.

"By the way, Yuffie," Selphie blinks at her with big curious eyes. "I saw you at the Riku Fan Club! What were you doing there? You told me you hated that club!"

Everyone – especially Riku – shoots Yuffie an interested stare.

"I WAS JUST GATHERING DATA ABOUT MY ENEMY!" Yuffie exclaims, blushing.

"What about you Selphie?" Kairi decides to change the subject. "What were you doing in the cooking club?"

"Oh!" She takes out a box of cookies, smiling bubbly. "I was making these!"

Kairi and Yuffie pick out one for them and smile.

"How cute!" Kairi coos, giggling. "Chibi Roxas Cookie!"

"Huh?" Roxas perks up. "Th-They're shaped as me?"

Blushing, Selphie pushes the box in front of Roxas. "Th-They're for you…" She says timidly.

"Wow, Selphie. You certainly move on from one guy to another fast..." Kairi sweat-drops in the background.

"Try it for me…?" Selphie asks the blonde eagerly.

"Try one Rox!" Yuffie tells him cheerfully. "Selphie's cookies are the best!"

Hesitantly, he picks out a cookie from the box and brings it closer to his face. Recently, his vision has improved slightly and he's able to see blurs. He takes a good long look at the cookie before suddenly frowning uncomfortably.

"What's the matter Roxy?" Selphie stares at his expression worriedly.

"I-I don't feel like eating it…"

"Why?" She frowns at him sadly.

"Yeah, why?" Kairi narrows her eyes at him suspiciously. "She made them just for you y'know!"

"I don't feel comfortable… eating myself…"

"Take a bite at least!" Kairi presses.

Hesitantly, he brings up the cookie to his mouth before pausing again. "I can't..." He sweat-drops.

"Be a man, eat the cookie!" Yuffie exclaims, raising a fist at the blonde.

"You can't let the cookie defeat you!" Kairi encourages him at the same time.

"Pleeease Roxy?" Selphie pleads, showing him her best puppy eyes face.

"But… it's… hard," he sweat-drops again, troubled.

"How annoying… just eat the cookie and get it over with," Riku mutters irritatedly, glaring at Roxas.

"Eat the cookie Rox!" Yuffie glares at him.

"Pleeease Roxy! Eat my cookie!" Selphie pleads at the same time.

"Come on, Roxas! _Eat it_!" Kairi urges him impatiently.

"Eat it Rox!"

"Eat my cookie Roxy!"

"_Eat it_!"

"The cookie…Eat it… Roxas…" Zexion drawls eerily, appearing out of nowhere between them.

"SHUT UP!" Roxas blurts out loudly all of a sudden, standing up.

Everyone freezes.

"I'LL EAT THE DAMNED COOKIE!" He brings it up to his mouth and takes a forceful bite, chewing off his cookie-head and munching it fiercely while glaring at his audience.

"Well?" Selphie asks eagerly after he swallows.

Suddenly, his eyes widen. "I can see…" He breathes out in amazement.

"Huh?" Everyone gawks at him.

"M-My eyes…. I-I can see! I can see clearly!" He exclaims, breaking into a slow grin.

"Hallelujah!" Yuffie blurts out, staring at the cookie in her hand in awe before lifting it up above her. "THE COOKIE HAS DIVINE HEALING POWERS!"

"Don't be ridiculous..." Riku rolls his eyes. "It's a coincidence."

"KEEP YO MOUTH SHUT PRICK! I WASN'T TALKING TO _YOU_!"

"Yay for Roxy!" Selphie claps her hands together happily.

"Eh?" Yuffie looks around them confusedly all of a sudden. "Guys, where did Zexion go?"

"Huh?" Kairi raises an eyebrow at her. "He wasn't here to begin with…"

The others are staring at Yuffie suspiciously too.

Yuffie scratches her head, puzzled. "Weird… I thought I saw him a while ago…"

-X-X-X-

_Meanwhile, waiting anxiously for Rikku at the Music Club…_

Demyx is sitting on his wheelchair by the window, waiting. The school bell has just ringed a few minutes ago, signaling the end of the previous period.

"R-Rikku should be coming any minute now…" He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Relax, Demyx... you gotta be cool… be cool… be—"

The door swings open and Rikku steps in.

He freezes in his chair tensely.

"Demmy!" She exclaims in surprise as soon as she spots him. "What are you doing out of the hospital? Isn't it too soon?"

"I-I'm o-okay now! Hehe!" He grins nervously.

"Are you sure?" She walks over to him worriedly.

Instinctively, he wheels back in fear, nodding at her his answer.

"Well… okay…." She stops and looks around them nervously. "Umm… did you come with Axel?"

He stops and nods confusedly. "H-He's gone to look for M-Mrs. Lockhart though…"

She fakes a giggle, looking away. "Typical Axel…"

_Awkward silence._

"Um—" They start at the same time, then stop and blush.

"Y-You first…" Demyx tells her sheepishly with a light chuckle.

"I like Axel!" She blurts out straightforwardly, blushing.

Demyx stares at her dumbfoundedly, blinking repeatedly in confusion.

"Huh?" He chokes out.

"I'm in love with Axel…" She repeats shyly. "W-Will you help me…?"

"H-Help… you?"

"You're his best friend aren't you? Childhood friends since you were in diapers?"

He nods slowly.

"Then you must be the one who knows him best!" Grinning, she brings her hands together and stares at him pleadingly. "I REALLY need your help with him! He can be a _liittle_ bit difficult to approach…" She giggles, unaware of the destruction she's steadily inflicting upon the poor guy's heart.

Demyx manages to grin back at her somehow. Nodding vehemently, he says, "Th-That's right! Nobody knows Axel like I do! Leave it to me! Hehe…"

"Really? You'd do it for me? Thanks…" She opens her arms for a friendly embrace. Alarmed, he quickly cringes back, causing her to stop and chuckle. "Yeah, you're right! I don't think I should hug you either; don't wanna hurt you when you just got out of the hospital!" She giggles.

"_If only that's the case…"_He thinks bitterly to himself.

"So what did you want to tell me?" She asks cheerfully all of a sudden.

"Uhh… n-nothing important! Hehe..." He chuckles nervously.

"Oh alright… umm… so you here to play some music then?" She questions as her hand travels over some instruments in the room.

"Uhm, yeah… but now I'm done so I have to go!" He says hurriedly before quickly wheeling out of the room without looking at her.

"See ya Demmy!" He hears her say before the door closes behind him.

"_Yeah…. See ya…"_

-X-X-X-

_Meanwhile, Sora finds the others at the cafeteria…_

"Sora! Where the heck were you?" Kairi scolds him angrily.

"Nurse's office!" Sora retorts casually, taking the seat opposite of the red-head.

"Really? Did you see Naminé?"

Sora freezes. "_Naminé_?"

"Yeah, she just went there a while ago."

He relaxes. "No, I didn't see her. She must've gone in after me."

"Probably."

His eyes fall instantly on the cookie in her hand.

She notices and tenses, glaring at him. "It's mine!"

"Where did you get it?" He asks, practically drooling.

"Selphie made them," She motions at the happy brunette. "But they've finished though. This is the last one."

"Let me have yours then, I'm hungry!"

"If you're hungry, get yourself something else to eat!"

"No, I want your cookie!"

"It's _mine_!"

The others sweat-drop at their immature quarrel. Except for Riku who is texting with his cell phone boredly, used to this.

Suddenly, Sora snatches Kairi's cookie from her.

"HEY! That's mine!" She glowers at him.

He waves the cookie at her face. "Do you know how much calories this thing has?"

She stops, worried. "No… how much?"

"I don't know, but it's a lot!"

She grits her teeth furiously as Sora stuffs her cookie into his mouth.

"YOU TRICKED ME!"

Sora grins at her innocently.

Just about she's gonna smack his head, the cafeteria doors swing open and students start gushing in, led by the fangirls who come running toward where Riku's, Roxas' and Sora's table is. Kairi and Sora freeze and gape at them.

"Oh no…" Roxas cringes back in horror.

They're at them in a moment. Pulling, squeezing, cuddling, squealing...

"Sooora!"

"Roxaaaas!"

"Rikuuu!"

"We missed you!"

"Did you come to school for us? Kyaaah!"

"How is your ankle Sora?"

"What's wrong with your eyes Roxy?"

"Go out with me Riku!"

"K-Kairi! Help us!" Sora pleads to the red-head.

Kairi smirks evilly at him. "What's that Sora? Didn't quite hear you…"

"Kairiii!" He whines, shrinking in his seat to get away from some of the fangirls.

"Why don't you be like Riku and Roxas and tell them off yourself?" Kairi tells him challengingly.

"Kairi's right!" Yuffie nods.

Suddenly, a random fangirl catches Sora's arm and clings on it.

"_Be mean… be mean…" _Sora chants in his head and slowly turns his head to face the clinging fangirl.

The fangirl beams at the attention he's giving her, quickly earning jealous death glares from the rest of her species.

"G-Get away from me…" Sora tries his best to put on the meanest act possible. "You… You're… _You're_… _Ugly_!"

_Shocked silence._

She gasps and holds her face. "R-Really? Am I, really? Do your really think so Sora?"

Sora is about to take back his word, sympathizing with the girl, when he catches Kairi and Yuffie shaking their head at him and remains silent.

"Th-Then! I'm going to have a plastic surgery!" The fangirl exclaims dramatically before running of the cafeteria.

Sora's eyes almost bulge out. "W-Wait!"

Too late. She's already out. He slumps back to his seat slowly. _"I-Is she really going to do it…?"_

-X-X-X-

_Later, walking beside Demyx's wheelchair in the hallway…_

"Something's wrong with you. You've been acting weird ever since you got back from the music club…" Axel mutters thoughtfully while examining his friend. "Go ahead, you can tell Ol'Axel!"

"I said it's nothing Ax…" Demyx replies hollowly without looking at him.

"It's obviously something… but whatever! You don't have to tell me now. Because sooner or later your big mouth will do the job for you!"

Demyx chuckles dryly in response, arousing Axel's curiosity.

"Did something happen between you and that Rikku chick?"

Demyx tenses.

"_Bull's eye," _Axel thinks to himself victoriously, smirking. "You cowered again didn't you?"

"…." Demyx frowns down at his lap sadly.

"Cheer up! You're starting to act like Roxas! We'll help you get over your fear alright? And then you'll have no problems wooing her. See? All good."

"Hn…"

"Now you even SOUND like Roxy…" Axel chuckles. The blonde isn't in the mood to laugh along though.

Meanwhile, not far in front of them, Selphie is sticking Roxas' photo that she's got from the Roxas Fan Club respectively on the back of her locker door, over the pictures of her many previous crushes.

She sighs dreamily at his picture. And then, something placed neatly in the centre of her locker catches her interest. A plain square box.

"Hm? Where did that come from?" She questions out loud curiously before taking the box and opening it.

Inside the box are two shiny chakrams, glittering mockingly at Selphie! And on top of them, there's a note that says:

_Thank you for releasing us the first time. Now it's time to repay our debt!_

She blinks confusedly at it, momentarily forgetting about the box.

The chakrams seize this opportunity to fly out of the box, and then change course and return, aiming squarely at the distracted brunette girl's back!

Fortunately, Demyx notices what's going on and springs off his wheelchair heroically, flying in the air in slow motion to push Selphie out of the way.

"SELPHIIIE! _WATCH OUUUTTT_!"

"Huh?" She turns her head just when Demyx collides with her, sending them both crashing to the floor.

The chakrams miss and escape.

Demyx jumps to his feet, carrying a clueless Selphie like hero carrying a damsel in distress.

"A-Are you alright?" He asks her while panting heavily.

She looks up at him with wide, dreamy eyes, blushing. "Y-Yes…" She answers breathlessly.

Axel claps his hands in awe at the show in the background. Then he stops and his jaw drops slowly. "Hey! Dude! Look! Y-You're carrying 'it', I-I mean her!"

Demyx blinks at him slowly and then finally realizes what's going on. Slowly, a grin forms on his face.

"Guess these chakrams are good for you after all!" Axel chuckles. "They helped you get over your phobia!"

"I…I touched a girl…" Demyx mumbles first in wonder, then in amazement, "I touched a girl!" And finally, proclaiming loudly to the hall, "I TOUCHED A GIRL!"

Some passing girls eye him with disgust.

"GROSS!"

"Pervert!"

"Creep!"

"Weirdo!"

…But he's too happy with himself to bother with them.

He swings Selphie around happily, laughing and grinning like idiots. Selphie has no idea what's going on, but she's enjoying the moment nonetheless. Happy, happy aura…

"You sicken me…" Axel blurts out, eying their happy aura with disgust.

-X-X-X-

_Meanwhile, with Sora running away from the fangirls…_

He's cornered. A dead end. The fangirls have chased him to this point, and now he's exhausted and they have him at their mercy…

He steps back in fear, hugging the wall behind him. "G-G-Girls… D-Don't you want to spend your lunch break eating or polishing your nails or something?" He gulps nervously.

They shake their heads sinisterly.

Sora gulps again.

Suddenly, Isabella steps out of the army of fangirls and winks at Sora playfully. "Long time no see, love…"

"I-Isabella! Talk to your people! Tell them to stop chasing me anymore… I'm exhausted… and my ankle is starting to hurt…"

Isabella smiles innocently. "Don't worry Sora hon. We'll take care of you. We'll take _VERY_ good care of you…" She snickers darkly.

And with that, they advance like hungry predators after an injured prey. Sora trembles fearfully, stumbling backwards to the floor. It looks like the end for our poor, helpless hero…

Like an angel, Namine comes to the rescue, quickly grabs his arm and pulls him up on his feet.

Isabella's features twist furiously. "Naminé!" She spits out the name hatefully.

Sora gawks at the blonde in awe. "N-Naminé!"

Quietly, she drags him with her from his arm and they make a dash for it…

-X-X-X-

_Under one the school's stairs…_

Sora slumps down on his bum, sighing with relief. "We've finally lost them!"

Naminé collapses beside him, panting heavily.

Sora turns to her sheepishly. "Uh, thanks for saving me…"

"…."

"Uhh… Aren't you going to say anything…?"

"…."

Sora pouts childishly, narrowing his eyes at her. "The silent treatment huh? Fine, do what you want!" He looks away irritatedly.

"Umm… Sora?"

"Huh?" He snaps moodily.

"Thank you…"

He is taken-aback. Softly this time, "Huh?"

"For never giving up on me and leaving my side, for sharing your happiness with me… Thank you."

Slowly, Sora turns his head to gawk at her. She smiles back at him softly, blushing.

Suddenly, without warning, Sora pulls Namine to him and hugs her tightly like a teddy bear. "Aww, you're so _cuuute_!" He coos, cuddling her close.

She blushes even deeper, if possible, and tries timidly to push him away. "D-Don't get very close to me…!"

"Shy Namine is soo _cuuute_!" He squeezes her tighter.

She sweat-drops in his arms.

Suddenly, Mrs. Maleficent appears in front of them.

Sora's grip on Namine loosens as they stare up at the dark teacher curiously.

"M-Mrs. Maleficent? What are you doing here?" Sora asks, blinking at her in surprise.

"…" She stares at them with dark, narrowed eyes and then, suddenly, she lifts her arms high in the air and throws her head back to look at the ceiling. "I'm here to pray to the Gods to rid the world of the sinful creatures!"

"Ha?" Sora and Naminé sweat-drop.

And then she looks down and her expression darkens. "And that's when I saw you two… nearly committing such a shameful sin! Thank the heavens for guiding me here just in time to expose it!"

"Huh?" Sora gawks at her stupidly.

"You two who were hiding here from everybody… were about to engage into an intercourse!" She points a dramatic finger at them.

"WHAT?" Sora and Naminé exclaim at the same time, their faces exploding with a flush.

"I've always known…" Maleficent turns her head to Naminé grimly. "That you were a devil in an angel's disguise!"

"Wait a sec, that's a HUGE misunderstanding…" Sora tries to explain panicky.

"Y-Yeah!" Naminé nods frantically.

"SILENCE, MISGUIDED SOULS!" Maleficent booms. "Now, in front of me! To detention!"

"But—" Sora begins.

"I SAID SILENCE, DEVIL'S MINION!"

-X-X-X-

_Maleficent's Detention…_

"Now, write on the board the sin which you have committed until I tell you to stop!" Maleficent instructs, handing them two whiteboard pens.

"Y-You want us to write it on the board?" Naminé exclaims incredulously.

"We didn't commit anything!" Sora protests frustratedly at the same time.

"Lying is an unforgivable sin!" Maleficent scolds. "Include that in the list of sins you have committed!"

They groan, their head slumping down miserably.

Once at the whiteboard, they find Seifer.

"Oh, hey Spiky," Seifer smirks at the brunette. "What _'sin'_ have _you_ committed?"

"Attempting to engage into intercourse on school grounds and lying," Maleficent answers for them casually. "Write that on the board."

Sora chuckles nervously. Beside him, Naminé's face explodes with another blush.

Seifer blinks in surprise at the two and then smirks. "Ohh…" He muses amusedly.

"It's a misunderstanding!" Sora tries to explain, pouting.

"Heh, I believe ya," Seifer says, focusing his attention back to the board. "You're the last person I expect to do it."

"What about you? Why are you here?" Sora asks curiously. "What's your… _'sin'_?"

"Talking about piss."

"Ha?" Sora and Naminé sweat-drop.

"And using foul language in our sacred classroom!" Maleficent adds angrily.

"Pish… whatever you say witch…" Seifer rolls his eyes at the board.

Sora glances at Naminé and smiles sheepishly. "Sorry… I got you caught up with my terrible luck!"

She shakes her head softly. "I-It's alright…"

"SILENCE!" Maleficent booms again, almost causing them to jump. "Keep your eyes on the board and start writing… silently!"

-X-X-X-

_Meanwhile, PE, the Gym…_

Roxas is sitting on a bench at the sidelines, taking a rest. Kairi comes to his side and hands him a bottle of water.

"Thanks, Kai," Roxas smiles appreciatively at her.

"No prob!" She smiles back friendly.

While gulping down his water, Roxas notices some dead-looking fangirls at the other side of the court, barely doing any cheering; in fact, they're making the air gloomy.

"What's wrong with them?" He asks Kairi curiously, pointing at them.

"Oh…They're Sora's fangirls…" She blinks curiously at them as well. "I wonder why they look so depressed…"

Roxas glances at the silent girl behind him, the head of his fan club. "Hey Vanilla…"

"Caramel."

"Um, sorry. Caramel…" He points at Sora's fangirls. "Do you know what's wrong with them?"

She shakes her head silently before turning her eyes to glare at Kairi.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that…?" Kairi asks uneasily.

"What is your relationship with Roxas?" Caramel retorts stiffly.

"'My relationship'?" Kairi raises an incredulous eyebrow before suddenly giggling. "Hehe, don't worry! We're just friends!"

Meanwhile, Riku is drying himself with a towel not far from them, looking bored like usual. When he's done with the towel, he throws it at the face of an unexpected Yuffie un-cheering on him from the sidelines.

She freezes as the towel slips down her face. And then, like an earthquake, her scream shakes the entire building…

"_PRRRIIIIICCKKKKKK_!"


	24. Sora's Secret Fanboy

Chapter 24

_Maleficent's Detention…_

"Are you finished? Let's see what you wrote…" Maleficent comes up behind Seifer.

Smirking smugly, Seifer moves from the board so can she can see what he's written:

_Fuck u witch_

_Fuck u witch_

_Fuck u witch_

_Fuck u witch_

_Fuck u witch…etc._

She gasps dramatically, pointing a shaking finger at him. "Y-You should go to the principal's office, take three days off, and use them to cleanse your wicked contaminated soul!"

"You mean get suspended?" He snorts, walking coolly toward the exit. "Hmph, whatever... as long as I don't see your fugly face!"

"Ohhh I see it! The dangerous dark aura coming from you… You are possessed by the devil my boy! You need help!"

"Crazy witch… you're the one that needs help," He mutters under his breath irritatedly before exiting through the door.

She pales suddenly. "B-BEGONE WICKED BEING!" She slams the door shut after him quickly and then sighs against it in relief. "We are safe..." She whispers with a shaky smile at a startled Sora and Naminé standing in front of the whiteboard. "The devil has left us."

"Err… what about us?" Sora asks, sweat-dropping.

"You are pure," Maleficent tells them with a creepy smile. "Heaven just whispered in my ear and told me you are virtuous!"

They sweat-drop again.

"U-Umm… d-does that mean we're free to go?" Naminé asks hopefully.

"Yes! You are free! Go and raise your head high, my dear virginal souls!"

They blush, hanging their head low from embarrassment.

Suddenly, Axel barges into the room. "Yo!" He waves at them coolly with a brilliant smirk.

"Axel? What are you doing here?" Sora blinks at the red-head curiously.

"I heard that you got detention and came to rescue you!"

Suddenly, Maleficent shrieks, quickly ducking behind a desk. "S-S-S-_SATAN_!" She cries in true horror, shaking and sweating dramatically at Axel's presence. She quickly closes her eyes and starts chanting prayers under her breath.

"Oh Mrs. Maleficent!" Axel greets her casually, his devilish smirk stretching. "Thanks for passing me and Demyx last year!"

She ignores him and keeps muttering protective prayers. Sora and Naminé are sweat-dropping at the whole thing.

"Come on, let's go!" Axel turns to them with a wink.

"What did you do to her?" Sora asks the red-head quietly once they're out in the empty hallway.

"Nothing…" Axel replies innocently, a devilish twinkle in his eye.

"_Really_?" Sora and Naminé raise an eyebrow at him doubtfully.

He scratches his head. "Well… Last year when she was our teacher, during an exam, I somehow set my paper on fire…" He tells them 'innocently'.

"Somehow!" Sora exclaims in disbelief, sweat-dropping. "Didn't you say you keep a matchbox in your pockets all time?"

"But I didn't use it…" Axel quickly explains, looking genuine this time. "Not that time at least. I'm not sure how it happened… I was concentrating hard on the exam… then I got frustrated because of some cryptic question I couldn't answer… and the next thing I knew, my paper set on fire by its own. Just like that."

They blink at him stupidly.

"Well actually… that wasn't the first time it happened," Hhe admits with an 'innocent' smirk. "Sometimes things set on fire randomly when I concentrate on them. Like Demyx's pink toothbrush this morning…"

They quickly back away from him cautiously.

Axel shrugs casually. "Maleficent saw it happen spontaneously like that in front of her eyes and, naturally, freaked out. Whenever I came anywhere near her, she'd scream and tell me to go away promising she'd pass me and Demyx if I did."

"_Poor Mrs. Maleficent…"_ Naminé and Sora think at the same time, sweat-dropping.

"She also started calling me 'Satan'…Heh," he holds his face and turns to them innocently. "Does this face look like Satan to you?"

"…" They chuckle weakly in response.

Smirking, Axel turns back to look ahead. "So I heard that you two are doing naughty things under the stairs…" He muses out loud suddenly, catching them off-guard.

Naminé explodes into a third blush while Sora asks suspiciously, "Where did you hear that from?"

"The fangirls. They spread news faster than the internet."

"O-Oh," Sora sweat-drops again. "But it's not true y'know… we were just hiding there from the fangirls."

"I knew it," Axel sighs a bit to himself. "You are the least person I expect to do it."

Suddenly, Sora falls behind, kneeling down to wince at his hurting ankle. Naminé blinks back at him worriedly.

"You OK?" Axel raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah I'm fine! Just some headache… You guys go ahead, I'm going to the nurse office," Sora tells them hastily, turning around.

"What about class?" Naminé asks quietly, earning a surprised look from the red-head.

"I'm excused 'cause I have basketball practice," Sora smiles reassuringly.

Naminé nods slowly before Sora turns and begins limping toward the nurse's office…

_Meanwhile at the Gym…_

Suddenly, Kairi sighs miserably to herself beside Selphie, Roxas and Demyx on the bench. The three turn their heads to look at her questioningly.

"I want a boyfriend," the red-head tells them with a pout.

"Me too! Me too!" Selphie says immediately, almost jumping in her seat from excitement. She turns to Demyx with heart-shaped eyes. "I want Demyx to be my boyfriend!"

"Impossible," Demyx surprises them with his solemn reply.

"Why?" Selphie asks heart-brokenly, almost tearing.

"My heart will always belong to Rikku, I will never love again!" He exclaims dramatically with an anguished pose.

"_What a drama king…"_ Kairi and Roxas think at the same time, sweat-dropping.

"I feel so sad for you, knowing that your crush is in love with your best friend must be painful…" She pats his arm comfortingly with sympathetic expression. "It's okay, I'm here for you… I'll be your shoulder to cry on, the girl you fall in love with later!" She smiles at him optimistically.

Demyx blinks at her stupidly. "Really? That'll really happen?"

She nods cheerfully as Demyx stares into space in deep thought, a mystified look on his face, making Roxas and Kairi sweat-drop… Again.

"Yo!"

They turn around to find Axel standing behind, saluting them. Naminé is silently sneaking to get to favorite bench at the rear.

"Ax! Where've you been?" Demyx asks.

"Around," Axel replies mysteriously with a smirk.

"Whatever, I need to talk to you about something important!" Demyx exclaims, looking around fidgetingly. The others raise questioning eyebrows as he hurriedly takes Axel with him farther to somewhere more private.

"Dude! Your evil chakrams!" Hisses Demyx eerily once they're alone.

"Dude! Relax!" Axel smirks confidently, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "They told you they wouldn't come after you until seven days didn't they? And look, you're still in one piece, that's a good sign right? It means they're staying true to their word! At least those things are honest!"

"No!" Demyx hisses frustratedly. "I wanna know why they tried to attack Selphie earlier! It doesn't make sense! I thought you said they only target fags man!"

"_Way to acknowledge you are a fag moron," _Thinks Axel amusedly. "I stick to my theory," he says out loud confidently. "Those things are fag exterminators. And Selphie is pro-faggotory. She supports Yaoi and she's in the Riku x Sora, and me x Roxas fan clubs…"

"There is such clubs?" Questions Demyx in surprise.

"Unfortunately, yes," Sighs Axel. "The chakrams are fag AND pro-faggotory exterminators, so I suggest that you and 'it' stick together from now on… Just in case."

Demyx gasps dramatically all of a sudden, covering the sides of his face in shock. "I'm gonna die!"

"Don't worry," Axel waves a careless hand. "We'll figure out something to fix this mess by then."

_Meanwhile, with Yuffie…_

**Flashback**

_At the Riku Fan Club…_

"You need my help with WHAT?" Yuffie cries outrageously.

"Finding out for us who is Riku's first," Explains Solana, head of the Riku Fan Club, calmly.

"And you're sure he's not a virgin?" Yuffie raises an eyebrow, her hands on her hips.

"Well we're not sure, but come on!" Solana does a 'duh' face. "It's _Riku_!"

Yuffie snorts. "Whatever! Good luck figuring that out, creeps!" She walks toward the exit; rolling her eyes on the way.

"So are you going to help us or not?" Asks Solana exasperatedly.

Yuffie stops and turns around with a mocking expression. "Why should I help you?"

Smirking confidently, Solana pulls out a thick file and holds it up at Yuffie's face. "Because of this."

"You've got to be freakin' kidding me…" Yuffie stares at her incredulously. "What the hell I'm going to do with a file?"

"This file contains every details and information that we know about Riku."

"Again, I ask, what the hell I'm going to do with a file about the _Prick_?"

"You're from the Anti-Riku club right?"

"Duh…"

"Then you might wanna read this file…" Solana tells her sneakily. "It just might have some information that you will find interesting…" She opens the file and pretends to read from one of its papers. "Like, maybe…Oh there it is!" She looks up, smirking. "Riku's embarrassing moments, perhaps?"

Yuffie's eyes lit up instantly. She starts gazing at the file like it's a treasure.

"It's all there. All the information you'd want to know about your enemy. What he hates, what he is allergic of…" Yuffie is almost drooling at the file, instinctively reaching out for it. But Solana pulls it away in time. "If you want it, all you gotta do is help us!"

Yuffie pouts suddenly. "And how am I supposed to figure out if the Prick's pure or not? He's my freakin' arch enemy!"

"But you're in the same friend group aren't you? You have plenty of time to figure that out."

"We are NOT friends!" Corrects Yuffie immediately. "We hang out together, yeah, but that's only because it's necessary to keep my enemy where I can watch'im. Keep your friends close, and your enemy closer… isn't that what they say?"

"Whatever," Solana rolls her eyes carelessly. "What matters is that you get that information for us. It's the only missing information in our database. We need to know if Riku's a virgin or not, and if not, who was his first!"

"You have a database for the Prick?" Yuffie sweat-drops. "Wow, you are disturbingly obsessed…"

"Do we have a deal?" Asks Solana impatiently.

"Yeah, sure, whatever… As long as you keep to your word and gimme that file of yours, I'll do what I can to get that info for ya!" Shrugs Yuffie casually.

"Great!" Solana smirks in satisfaction. "When you get that information, come to us and we'll exchange it for this file!"

**End of Flashback**

Meanwhile, Yuffie is on her way to go after Riku. He's finished his basketball practice and headed to the locker room to change a while ago.

"_I've thought it over carefully… The best way to get that information without being suspicious is to play TRUTH OR DARE! That way, it'll just seem like I'm playing a harmless, challenging game with him, like I always do, and I can get the information I want from it when Prick chooses 'Truth'! Fufufufu! I'm such a genius!"_

She is snickering to herself out loud without realizing, earning a few odd stares from a couple of guys exiting the boys locker room.

_Fifteen minutes pass…_

"_Damn you prick! You sure take so long! Such a girl!" _Impatient, she busts into the room abruptly, and then quickly scans it for the prick.

Riku's the only one left inside, sitting on a bench with only one towel around his waist, staring at Yuffie like she's out of this world before shaking his head calmly and turning back to dry his hair with another towel, used to her randomness.

"PRICK!" She calls loudly when she's spotted him.

"…"

She marches toward him fast.

Sighing, he asks in a bored fashion without looking up, "Do you realize where you are right now?"

"Yeah!" She replies casually with a shrug, like it's no big deal. "The boys' locker room!"

"…"

She waves a careless hand in the air. "Anyway Prick! I came here to challenge you for a game!" She exclaims bravely while pointing at him. "Are you brave enough to challenge the great Yuffie Kisaragi?"

Riku stares at her blankly for a while. "Let me get this straight… You barge into the guy's locker…just to tell me that you want to play a game with me while I'm almost naked. Yuffie… sometimes, I fail to understand you." Then, smirking suddenly, he adds, "Or is because you _want_ to see me naked?"

"Shut up Prick! It doesn't matter 'cause you don't attract me one bit!" She tells him with a mischievous grin. "So you playin' or not?"

"What's the game?" He asks with a weary sigh while drying the back of his head with his towel.

She jumps on the bench next to him enthusiastically, almost making Riku smile. "TRUTH OR DARE!"

He smiles. "Alright, but how about I change first, or do you prefer to continue ogling my—"

"Shut up Prick!" She retorts instantly with a slight blush on her cheeks, and then jumps off the bench and heads for the exit. "Hurry up and wear something, I'm countin' to ten and then I'm coming back in here!"

_Later…_

"Truth or dare?" Riku asks Yuffie after his empty water bottle pointed at her.

"_Arghh! Damn that stupid bottle! It doesn't know how to spin right!"_Curses Yuffie in her head. "DARE! I DARE YOU TO DARE ME PRICK!"

Riku smirks devilishly all of a sudden, like he's been waiting for this. "Alright then…" He gazes at her in a way that'd make a fangirl melt. "I dare you to kiss me."

"GLADLY!" She retorts abruptly before thinking, greatly surprising Riku, then stops and starts blinking stupidly. "Wait what, ew hell no!"

"Hmph," He pretends to get up and leave the bench, tossing his bag over his shoulder. "Then game's over, I win."

"What?" Gasps Yuffie, jumping up. "No way! That's not fair Prick!"

"It's round one and you already gave up the challenge," he shrugs.

"I DID _NOT_ GIVE UP! What you asked was just disgusting!" She shudders.

He shrugs casually again. "Then game's over. You lose." He walks past her calmly. "See ya."

"WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!" She jumps in front of him before he can get away. "I REFUSE TO LOSE TO YOU PRICK! I WILL KISS YOU AND IT WILL BE THE BEST KISS YOU'LL EVER HAVE! HAH!" She holds her waist and starts laughing out loud haughtily at the ceiling.

Riku is blushing a bit in surprise at first, and then, he smirks, scoffing quietly to himself. _"What an idiot."_

She takes _long_ deep breathes while Riku stands there, watching her amusedly with a raised eyebrow. "You're not going to die from a kiss you know."

"Shut up Prick! You don't understand the sacrifice I'm making here!" She yells at him before closing her eyes and taking breathes again. Suddenly, she opens them. "Okay... I think I'm ready!"

Slowly, she inches closer to Riku, puts a hand on his shoulder then leans in to kiss him. Riku is watching her amusedly the whole while.

She stops abruptly midway. "Damnit! CLOSE YOUR EYES PRICK! YOU'RE MAKING IT HARDER!"

He rolls his eyes before closing them and waiting. She takes a deep breath and leans in again. Once she's almost a centimeter away from his lips, she backs away, kneels down and starts gagging. "I CAN'T DO IT!" She hugs herself miserably, shuddering. "IT'S SO AWFUL! I WON'T BE ABLE TO LIVE WITH MYSELF IF I DID IT!"

"…" Riku is staring at her blankly, feeling slightly offended and hurt, for some reason he can't explain.

She turns around to him swiftly. Riku composes himself, but instead, Yuffie points at him and exclaims, "THIS ISN'T OVER PRICK! I_WILL_ KISS YOU!" She stomps toward the door. Riku watches her go amusedly. "UNTIL NEXT TIME!" With that, she slams the door behind her.

Riku lets out a heavy sigh once he's alone. _"Why does she hate me so much? Am I really a bad guy…? Hmph."_

_After school, with Sora and the others at the hallway…_

"What? Naminé isn't going with us?" Kairi questions disappointedly.

"Her dad wanted her to go to with Tifa," Sora explains as he's opening his locker to put back his books. "He doesn't like her walking home by herself."

Suddenly, he notices a peculiar love letter placed nearly in the center, unlike the others which he gets almost every day from the fangirls.

"What's that Sora?" Asks Kairi curiously, peeking from his shoulder.

Sora quickly hides the letter behind back. "I-It's just another of _those_ letters, no big deal!" He chuckles nervously.

"It's him again?" Kairi exclaims, snatching the letter from Sora and examining it. "Ugh! Such a creep! When will he give up?"

"Excuse me, did you just say 'he'?" Axel suddenly comes closer, intrigued.

"Yeah," Kairi turns to him, frowning. "Some anonymous gay fan keeps sending Sora creepy love letters lately. I'm worried."

"Gay fan?" Everyone questions at the same time, quickly gathering around Kairi to get a glimpse at the letter:

_My dear Sora…_

_I watch you every day. I never get tired of watching you, my love. You are so beautiful…_

_You are my precious, my lovely…My one and only…_

_Wait for me…_

_One day, we shall meet face-to-face…I promise._

_All love and much, __**much **__more…_

_Your fanboy._

"OH GOD, _GROSS_!" Exclaims Yuffie, appearing out of nowhere like usual.

"LOVELY!" Cries Selphie at the same time with heart-shaped eyes.

"I don't see anything weird… It's norma— WAIT WHAT FAN_BOY_?" Demyx freezes, wincing in disgust.

"I'm disturbed…" Roxas mumbles quietly with one eye twitching.

On the other hand, Axel is laughing his ass off in the background. "EPIC! JUST… _EPIC_!"

"I-I get them occasionally! Nothing to worry about!" Sora grins weakly while scratching the back of his head.

"No it's not!" Kairi retorts a bit angrily. "This creepy guy could rape you! It's dangerous!"

Sora sweat-drops before muttering, "I'm more afraid of the fangirls…"

"That's true. You women are professional rapists!" Axel remarks.

Kairi snorts. "If you're a MAN then just push her away!"

"We can't. Our manly needs simply cannot be controlled," Axel replies calmly.

Kairi rolls her eyes at Axel just as Riku appears and takes the letter from her. "I gotta figure out who that freaky guy is…It has gone too far this time."

Yuffie jumps in instantly. "NOT SO FAST SHERLOCK! NOT UNLESS I BEAT YOU TO IT! DETECTIVE YUFFIE KISARAGI ON THE CASE!" She exclaims while making a heroic pose.

"Guys! Check this out! There's a note at the bottom!" Demyx exclaims, pointing at it:

_**P.S.**_

_**I am entirely aware of what is going on between you and Roxas, and I assure you that I won't stand still about it.**_

"….."

Suddenly everyone turns to Roxas and Sora suspiciously. "_What_ is going between you two?"

"Huh?" Sora blinks dumbly.

"Nothing!" Roxas retorts immediately at the same time. "This creep is obviously bluffing!"

Suddenly, Sora pokes his cousin's shoulder for his attention. "Roxas, do you think he saw us those times when we accidentally…"

Roxas pales suddenly. "Oh God… He's watching you at your own house…."

"There's definitely something going on there…" Axel is muttering to the group in the background, always the one who loves to cause chaos and misunderstandings.

"With Sora and Roxas? Ohhh boy!" Demyx's jaw drops.

"Oh my God… Roxas, Sora… WHAT exactly is going on between you two? Is this blackmail?" Kairi exclaims in panic.

"There's nothing going on!" Roxas retorts exasperatedly.

"Yeah, what he said! Nothing!" Sora shrugs.

Suddenly, Selphie starts squealing like a fangirl, startling everyone. "OH MY GOSH! THIS IS JUST TOO CUTE! THE GIRLS AT OUR CLUB ARE GONNA FLIP WHEN THEY HEAR THIS! KYAAAAH!"

"Hear what?" Sora and Roxas raise a confused eyebrow.

"That there is 'something' going on between you two sillies!" She winks at them.

"…."

"Sora, is it true?" Riku asks the brunette doubtfully.

"No! Guys, did you lose it? You all think I like Naminé!" Sora stares at all of them incredulously.

"We're cousins! That's just sick!" Roxas exclaims with a disgusted face.

Suddenly, a mass of fangirls have formed around them. "AWWW! DENIAL! _SO_ _CUUUTE_!"

"Who're _they_?" Yuffie sweat-drops.

"THEY'RE MEMBERS OF MY ROXAS x SORA FAN CLUB!" Selphie explains cheerfully.

"We have a fan club?" Roxas and Sora yell outrageously. "WE'RE COUSINS FOR GOD'S SAKE!"

"I bet you they won't mind. Fangirls are getting way delusional. Strange pairings are made up nowadays…" Kairi murmurs, sweat-dropping.

"I _almost_ feel sorry for Sora and Roxas!" Yuffie snickers. "But this is so much fun to watch!"

"Wait… so are Sora and Roxas gay? I don't understand…" Demyx is thinking deeply by himself in the background, utterly confused.

A random obnoxious person pops up from the crowd and yells, "I SAW THEM HOLDING HANDS RIGHT IN FRONT OF TWILIGHT HOSPITAL!"

The fangirls squeal instantly while Sora and Roxas cringe. "KYAAAH! HOLDING HANDS!"

"He was helping me cross the street because I was temporarily blind then!" Roxas tries to explain.

"KYAAAAAH! HELPING HIIIM!"

"This is so wrong…" Sora mutters, sweat-dropping. "On so many different levels…"

"KYAAAAAAAAH! TRUE LOOOOVE!"

Suddenly; Maleficent pops up among the crowd. "INCEST!" She booms, pointing at Roxas and Sora with her ruler. "THOU SHALL ROT IN HELLLL!"

"B-But we're innocent! It's all the illusions of the fangirls!" Sora exclaims desperately.

"Cheating on your woman too…" She shakes her head at Sora disappointedly. "How vile… Such wicked, treacherous soul! You're going with me to detention!"

"You can't do that! We're innocent!"

"SILENCE, VILE TWISTED BEING! SINNERS LIKE YOU MUST BE EXTERMINATED!"

"_Exterminated? Hmm…"_Ponders Axel interestedly to himself.

"COME WITH ME NOW, SLAVES OF THE DARK-SIDE!" Booms Maleficent, pointing to the direction of her detention room.

"Hey wait a sec," Riku intervenes, stepping in between them. "Sora doesn't lie. If he said nothing happened, _nothing happened_."

Maleficent stares back at Riku's threatening glare calmly. "You are one to speak, Riku Harada. Yes, I know you… You are our school's number one women player. Your and Naminé's evil ways must have rubbed off on Sora! He was such an innocent soul back in the day… until you contaminated it! All he thinks about now is that girl… It got to the point that everybody in this building is now aware of his foolish obsession with that devil in an angel's disguise!"

"Hey, don't say that about Naminé!" Exclaims Sora with a pout.

"Do you see?" Maleficent points a finger at Sora as she continues exclaiming to Riku dramatically. "What a pitiful soul!"

"Whatever, leave my friend alone!" Hisses Riku coldly.

Suddenly, the fangirls, led by Selphie, start squealing again. "KYAAAAH! RIKU IS SO PROTECTIVE OF SORA! TRUE LOOOOVE!"

Riku sweat-drops. "Ugh…Leave me out of this…"

"NOW WE HAVE A LOVE TRIANGLE!" Exclaims one of the fangirls happily.

"No, it's a love SQUARE!" Selphie corrects. "If you count Sora's secret admirer too!"

"KYAAAAAAAAH!"

Everyone sweat-drops at them.

"Poor girls…" Mutters Kairi with a sympathetic smile. "Lost in their own delusional world…."

"I wonder who Sora will choose in the end!" A random fangirl exclaims excitedly.

"Roxas of course! They live together!" Another random Roxas and Sora fangirl replies.

"RIKU, DUH!" A member of the opposite fandom retorts. "They've been best friends since forever! And Riku has always protected Sora!"

"What about you Selphie, which pairing do you support?" One of the fangirls asks their leader.

"I, on the other hand, support the mysterious secret admirer! His letter was sooo sweet!" Selphie sighs dreamily, her heart-shaped eyes glowing.

"…And downright creepy," Yuffie adds, sweat-dropping.

"I don't get it!" Demyx exclaims by himself suddenly, clutching his head in pain because of thinking too hard. "Is everyone I know gay? Then why didn't the evil chakrams target them yet?"

"My lord! I am about to lose my mind! This place is filled with sinners! Oh, what has the world come tooooo?" Maleficent drops to the floor on her hands miserably at the same time.

Meanwhile, the fangirls sneakily drag Sora with them to one side before asking him abruptly, "Sora, you love Roxas right?"

Sora shrugs, eyeing them wearily. "Er… Of course. He's my cousin."

"Who do you love more, Riku or Roxas?"

Sora thinks to himself thoughtfully, completely oblivious to their intentions. "Hmm… This one's hard… Riku is my best friend and Roxas is my cousin… he's almost like a brother to me too…I'm not sure…"

"Awww! How cute! He's confused about his feelings!" The fangirls sigh dreamily.

Meanwhile, Riku is muttering to Roxas, "This is bad… Sora has a knack for saying the wrong things at the wrong times."

"Why are all the fag-ish people like Demyx not included in their Yaoi dreamland, and us manly ones are? Friggin' stupid," Axel rolls his eyes.

Yuffie scoffs. "Heh, you're the number one fags here. Roxas is emo—"

"I am not Emo!" The blonde retorts angrily.

"—Axel wears make-up—"

"This is NOT make-up woman!" Axel frowns.

"—Sora is… Sora."

The three boys shrug, silently agreeing with this one.

"—And Prick… I don't even need to start with the Prick. He freakin' cares for his teeth more than any chick I know. They practically glow in the dark! His hair is so soft; he probably uses special girly shampoo or something…" She brings her head closer to Riku's hair, catching him off-guard, and sniffs it. "It smells sexy too…." She pauses and glares up at him. "I'm not complimenting you Prick; I'm complimenting your shampoo!"

Axel snickers to himself, earning an irritated glare from the silver-head.

"Wow your hair smells REAL GOOD!" She grabs a strand of his silver hair and start sniffing it deeply.

"Hey," Riku turns to her swiftly, blushing a bit. "Stop smelling my hair!"

"Aw come on Prick! Just one more sniff!" She follows an irritated Riku down the hallway, squeezing his way out through the mass of Yaoi fangirls.

"Hey I just realized this!" Kairi says as she approaches Axel and Roxas. "Naminé's rivals are a secret gay fan, his best friend and Sora's cousin! Maybe it's a good thing she's not here or she'd have been _very_ disturbed!" She adds, giggling.

"Sora…?"

Everyone turns around to find Naminé standing there a bit farther in the middle of the hallway, blinking confusedly.

"I think I spoke too soon…" Kairi mutters in the middle of the silence.

"Ya think?" Axel raises an eyebrow at her sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Sora hurries over to her panicky. "N-Naminé! I can explain! This is not what it looks like!"

Suddenly, Naminé bursts out laughing hard and doubles over, catching everyone's attention. They blink at her slowly, mesmerized, for it's the first time ever they see her laugh in front of them.

Sora stops, studying her worriedly. "Naminé are you okay? I-I really mean it! Nothing happened between me and Roxas!"

Suddenly, Kairi burst out laughing hard too. Soon, everyone burst out laughing all together.

"What?" Sora looks around him dumbly.

Demyx gets off his wheelchair and subconsciously leans on Maleficent's shoulder for support, tears running down his face from laughing so hard. "I'm just laughing 'cause everyone's laughing!" He exclaims between fits of laughter.

"Get off me boy, or I'll give you a detention!" Warns Maleficent while laughing.

"What?" Demyx turns to her casually, chuckling. "You're funny!"

She stops laughing immediately, and frowns instead. "No seriously, I mean it. That was sexual harassment. _You're_ going with me to detention dirty soul!"

He freezes, blinking at her stupidly. "E-Eh?"

She drags him away with her from his ears.

"A-AX, HEEELP! SHE'S GOT ME!" Cries Demyx at his friend desperately while being dragged away.

Unfortunately for him, Axel is busy flirting with a couple of the fangirls. "Yeah, yeah! I'll come for ya later man!" The red-head replies distractedly, waving him off.

Meanwhile, Kairi goes over to Sora and puts a friendly arm around him. "You're such a clown Sora!" She says, giggling. "But that's why we love you!"

Sora stares at her dumbly and then turns his head to find Naminé smiling at him timidly behind them.

"Naminé…." He smiles at her in wonderment. "I thought you went home…"

She shakes her head sheepishly. "Tifa is busy with her work. Sh-She said I could… walk with you home…"

Sora grins at his friends around him. "I think everyone would love that to!"

They nod, all of them smiling and nodding at her friendly, accepting her as one of their friends. Naminé blushes and smiles down shyly at the floor.

"Come on, let's all go out and have some fun!" Kairi exclaims excitedly, taking the blonde girl's hand.

"What about Riku and Yuffie?" Sora asks curiously, looking around them.

"Riku slithered away again it seems," Kairi notices with a dissatisfied frown. "And Yuffie… probably went with him…" Her frown deepens as she checks around them and doesn't find any sign of the black-head.

_Meanwhile, with Riku and Yuffie…._

"How did I end up walking with you home Prick?" Yuffie grumbles in annoyance while walking side-by-side with the 'Prick'.

"You followed me out to sniff my hair," Riku replies drily.

"Why are you taking the same route as me Prick?"

"We're neighbors," Sighs Riku tiredly.

"How come I'm neighbors with you Prick?"

"Destiny," He says sarcastically, almost smiling.

Suddenly – finally – _silence_. For a short while, anyway.

"_Oh yeah….. The truth or dare game! We can't move on with it unless I do the dare!"_ She glances sideways at Riku, sweating nervously a bit. _"I... must... kiss... him…."_

"PRICK!" She yells loudly all of a sudden.

Riku turns to her curiously with a raised eyebrow. "Hn?"

"COME HERE!" She motions for him to come closer, looking very serious and grim.

He blinks at her with wide open eyes confusedly.

"I'M GONNA KISS YOU, YOU DUMB PRICK! WHAT? DID YOU THINK I FORGOT? HAH! YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY THAT EASY!"

"…" Riku is suppressing the urge to smirk outwardly at her misconception of the matter.

They stop in the middle of the side-street so Yuffie can kiss him. She inhales deeply then abruptly pushes her face forward quickly while closing her eyes to get it over with. Riku is taken off-guard with her suddenness, blushing slightly. Just when she's about to touch his lips, she hears a passing old couple's comment and freezes...

"Aww! Look darling…What a charming young couple! They look just like us when we were young!"

"You're right, sweetheart! I hope they end up like us too one day… happily married and in love! Hohoho!"

Yuffie quickly backs away when the old couple passes them, doubles over, and gags in disgust. "_DISGUSTING_! THEY JUST GAVE ME HORRIBLE MENTAL IMAGES!" She clutches her head and starts rocking it back and forth, wincing from utter revulsion. "EWWWW!"

"…" Riku lets out a sigh in the background, kind of expecting this. _"Why doesn't she just kiss my cheek?"_ He shrugs, calmly turning and continues his way home. _"I'm not going to point that out to her though." _He smirks to himself evilly.

_Later, in front of Riku's house…_

Just as Riku has entered his front yard, he hears some footsteps running after him. He turns around swiftly to find himself staring into Yuffie's face so close to his, only a few centimeters away.

He almost jumps back from shock, but fortunately he manages to compose himself. "Y-Yuffie! Wh-What the—"

She leans in a bit closer, a determined look on her face, completely unaware that Riku is blushing.

Suddenly, Yuffie turns away and drops to the grass on her knees in misery. "I CAN'T DO IT!" She nearly sobs, pulling off grass in frustration. "WHY! WHY IS SOMETHING SO SIMPLE, SO HARD TO DO? JUST WHY!"

"…." Riku sighs. _"This is going to go on forever…"_

Suddenly, Yuffie springs up to her feet with renewed determination, and turns back to face the 'Prick'.

Riku readies himself for another possible attack. But instead, Yuffie just points a finger at him while running off toward her house next door, yelling, "Wait for it! Waiiit for it! TOMORROW! I'LL DEFINITELY KISS YOU TOMORROW, AND ITS GOING TO BE THE BESTEST KISS YOU'LL EVER HAVE! HA-HA!"

With that, she goes inside her house and slams the door shut.

"…" Riku sweat-drops, smiling a little, and then goes inside his own house.

"_I'll definitely wait for it..."_

_Meanwhile, with Axel back at Twilight High…_

"_Oh right… I have to get Dem out from the witch's detention…" _Thinks Axel with a mental sigh while walking alone by himself in the empty hallway. School is over and almost everyone has left already, even Sora and the others have gone out together earlier_. "First Sora and Naminé, and now Demyx….Sheesh…"_

Suddenly, on his way to Maleficent's detention, he meets Rikku coming from the opposite direction.

"Axel! Heyy!" Grins Rikku brightly.

Axel stops temporarily. "Oh hey babe. What's up?" He asks casually.

"Oh I'm just on my way out. Um, wanna leave together?" Asks Rikku hopefully.

"Uh no, I have some… _business_ to take care of first. You go ahead," He continues walking, waving back at her. "Demyx and I will try to catch up later!"

Rikku watches his back as he is leaving thoughtfully. _"Now that I have Demyx's support, I should be able to do it this time! I mustn't fail Demmy! Yeah! You can do it Rikku!"_

"Axel! Wait!"

He stops and turns around half-way curiously. "Yup?"

"I-I have something important to tell you!" She exclaims nervously.

He blinks at her curiously, waiting.

She stares at the floor before making her confession, blushing timidly. "Ever since the first year…When we met the day Demyx joined the Music Club…" She pauses nervously. "I-I've… I've always liked you Axel. Always have."

After her romantic confession, all Axel is thinking is simply, _"Oh, shit."_Effortfully maintaining a composed expression, rather than a troubled one, which is the real case.

"A-Aren't you going to say something…?" Giggles Rikku anxiously.

"Wow…" Says Axel while rubbing his forehead. "Didn't see THAT coming…" He sighs then locks eyes with her and smirks coldly. "Sorry though…"

A devastated look takes over her face.

"I have a strict policy... not to get involved with a chick my friend likes."

"Y-Your friend?" She manages to choke out. "Wh-Who?"

"Let's just say he's crazy about you," he tells her softly.

"But I like _you_…." She says brokenly, tears gathering in her eyes.

Axel closes his eyes and sighs again. "Look..." He speaks to her more gently this time. "I'm not the type to have a commitment with someone. You'll only end up getting hurt in the end." With that, he shrugs helplessly, turns around and moves on.

Abruptly, Rikku takes a step after him and yells impulsively, "I'm not giving up on you Axel! I will keep trying until you can see only me!"

Without looking back, he tells her softly, "Impossible."

"We'll see!"

"_I'm not giving up until I get a proper answer from you, Ax!"_ Thinks Rikku determinedly to herself.

_Later, outside the school building, after Axel got Demyx out of Detention with his satanic powers…_

"Hey Ax! Hold on! Why are you walking so fast?" Complains Demyx while trailing behind his red-headed friend.

Axel stops suddenly and whirls around, looking very angry. "You knew about Rikku liking me didn't you?"

Demyx stops abruptly too, startled. "Whoa, calm down Ax….Y'know how scary you are when you're mad…"

"I bet you didn't even confess to her right?" He yells even louder at the blonde's face.

"How could I…." Demyx shrugs weakly while staring at the ground. "I knew I wasn't the one she liked… Why should I bother—"

"IDIOT! FUCKING IDIOT!" Barks the red-head abruptly, startling the blonde again.

"Ax… Seriously, calm down…." Says Demyx softly.

Axel sighs and manages to calm himself. "You've always liked her man…ever since you joined that stupid Music Club! Why give up? Because she likes me? Tough luck for her, I don't—"

Demyx chuckles nervously all of a sudden. "Why are you so worked up about it Ax? I don't understand."

"BECAUSE I KNOW EXACTLY WHY YOU'RE DOING THIS AND I DON'T LIKE IT!"

_Silence._

Demyx is staring at the ground silently while Axel is trying to calm himself down again.

"Because you love Rikku, Axel," says Demyx softly all of a sudden.

"_Bullshit_! I love all hot women!"

"Because when I had to choose between you and Rikku, I chose you. You're more than just my best friend Axel; you're like a brother…"

"Ugh, again with gay speech…" Mutters Axel, turning away and pretending to look careless. "Y'know if you're not careful with these speeches of yours, they might open an Axel x Demyx fanclub too."

"Don't even try to change the subject; you need to listen to this Ax!" Demyx persists, a serious look on his face for once. "You're like a brother to me. We've known each other since we were born. I can't do things without you man! We're a duo," The blonde grins. "The flunkers, the troublemakers…We're a team!"

Axel scoffs lightly to himself, though failing to hide his smile.

"That's why I want you to be happy Ax! You're my friend!" Smiles Demyx reassuringly at his friend. "It's OKAY. You can date Rikku."

"…."

"Hey Ax," Demyx tries to peek at Axel's face. "Is that a tear I see there?" He grins playfully.

"No! Stupid sand got in my eye that's all!" The red-head starts rubbing his eye forcefully. "And I'm _not_ going to date Rikku."

"Why...?" Asks the blonde confusedly.

"You know me; I'm not the type to settle down with one woman."

Demyx shrugs casually as they start walking again. "Well I know Rikku, she won't give up!"

Axel scoffs. "Me neither. Let her continue trying until she feds up and starts falling for you instead!"

"OR, you'll finally swallow your pride and admit that you like her."

"Not gonna happen. She falling for you eventually is more likely."

"No… No. I think she'll be able to crack you."

"Yeah right, bullshit. She'll fall for you, you'll see. You're both crazy and out there, perfect match!"

"She's your perfect type too!" Grins Demyx. "Besides, I DID promise that I'd support her and I will! With my help, she'll definitely be able crack you!"

"You traitor-" Axel turns to his friend swiftly with a murderous glare. "I'll burn you!"

Demyx sticks out his tongue playfully at his friend, and runs for it when Axel lunges after him with a killing intent.


	25. Ambiguous

**Chapter 25:**

"We're off to school!" Shouts Sora to his parents while limping down the stairs in a hurry.

Roxas sighs after him. "Slow down, you have a bad ankle."

While passing the kitchen, Squall puts down the newspaper on the table and shakes his head at them. "You're late," he looks suspiciously at Roxas waiting for Sora near the backdoor. "And you too? What have you two been doing?"

Sora rolls his eyes while hastily munching on a toast.

"Aren't you having breakfast Roxas?" Sora's mom asks the blonde a bit disappointedly next to Squall.

"No thanks, don't have time for that," Roxas tells her with a quick smile and then answers Squall's question, "For fifteen minutes, I've been trying to wake up your son."

Squall and his wife sweat-drop, knowing full-well how hard of a task that is. Meanwhile, Sora is oblivious to everything, busy wiping out his plate as fast as he can.

"Tried everything," Roxas frowns darkly. "Slapped him, splashed his face with cold water, shook him until I ripped off his shirt…"

"What technique did you use to wake the idiot's up successfully?" Squall asks in a cold, professional manner, earning a reprimanding "Squall!" from his wife.

"I reminded him that we're picking up Naminé from her house today."

"Figures," Squall rolls his eyes mentally.

"You're coming along with them?" Squall's wife inquires curiously at the same time.

"Yeah, we promised her dad that we'd come with Sora," he sweat-drops, smiling weakly, "Apparently he doesn't trust him to walk her to school alone…"

"I like Naminé's dad," Squall states calmly while getting back to his paper.

Rinoa pouts at him angrily. "Squall! He's your son!" Then turning to her son, she smiles affectionately, "He doesn't mean it sweetie… your father loves you more than anything. He just has… unique ways of showing it," she glares at her husband while saying the last bit.

Sora finally finishes eating, wipes his mouth with his hand – earning disgusted looks from Squall and Roxas – and then hurries toward the backdoor where his cousin is waiting. "Love you too bye!"

"Wait, Sora!" His mom stops him as he's about to open the door. "Your school team's basketball game is tomorrow isn't that right?"

Sora halts immediately. "Uh… Yeah," he forces out a smile. "But I'll probably won't be able to…" He lifts up his injured leg a bit. "Y'know…"

"Don't let it bring you down sweetie… whether you get to play or not, we're still proud of you!"

Sora looks over at his father expectantly.

"Hn," Squall flips over the next page roughly, making Sora immediately frown.

"Right…" The young brunette turns back dejectedly to the door.

As he puts his hand on the doorknob, he stops as he hears his father say, "You're an idiot. How could you be reckless just before an important game like this?"

Roxas notices quietly as Sora's grip on the doorknob tighten.

"Would it hurt you to show your only son some love now and then?" Rinoa hisses quietly at her husband.

As Sora silently leaves with Roxas, she scolds her seemingly cold husband louder, "Can't you see how badly he wants you to be proud of him?"

"Proud of what? His idiocy? His irresponsibility? His inability to take his future seriously?" Squall retorts coldly, making his wife glare at him furiously. "Your son needs to grow up. We're not going to babysit him forever; he should understand that by now."

Rinoa huffs and abruptly leaves the table. "Guess who's sleeping on the couch tonight!"

Squall drops the newspaper to watch her walk out of the kitchen in shock. "I did tell him I was proud of him when he brought me the lousiest report card!" He shouts after her as she stomps up the stairs.

He is answered by a slam of their bedroom door.

While walking toward the sidewalk, Roxas turns to his cousin while grinning a bit, trying to cheer him up. "It's surprising to see _you_ down."

"Haha…" Sora grins back weakly then looks back at the ground.

"I'm with your mom… Your dad obviously cares a great deal about you, but he has a gruff way of showing it."

"I know…" Sora sighs.

"You're lucky you have a dad…" Roxas mutters quietly while looking ahead.

Sora suddenly remembers that Roxas' father died when he was a kid and instantly feels sympathetic. "I'm sorry…"

"It's OK, doesn't matter anymore…" Roxas smiles a little bitterly. "My life was pretty screwed-up before, but coming here made it a lot better…"

"What was your life like?"

Roxas' expression becomes grim as he silently hangs his head a bit lower.

"Rox?"

"…"

Sora blinks at the blonde curiously when suddenly, Kairi shows up after running up toward them from the other side of the street, where her house is. "Good morning!" She smiles at them cheerfully.

"Morning," the boys reply at the same time, smiling back at the red-head.

"Ready to go to Naminé's?" She winks at Sora with a mischievous grin.

"Haha…" Sora chuckles sheepishly while touching his hair. Roxas smiles at him.

"OY! Did you forget about me?"

They turn their heads and notice Yuffie coming their way, with Riku coolly following behind.

_Later, Naminé's house…_

"Don't _worry_, I'll be fine," Naminé reassures her dad before leaving to meet with the others outside, smiling. "Sora's friends are going with me."

Cloud watches his daughter's smile, feeling warm inside. "I know…" He eventually says, managing a small smile in return. "Sora's a good kid."

Naminé stops at the door and turns to face her dad in surprise. Then she smiles and says brightly, "See you later dad, I'm off to school."

_On their way to school…_

Naminé shyly glances at Sora walking in the back by himself, noticing that he's oddly quiet. He isn't even trying to bug her like he usually does. She wonders what's on his mind.

They meet Axel and Demyx at the school gate.

"Yo!" Axel smirks, waving a hand at them.

"Hey guys," Roxas smiles, leaving the others to join his old friends.

Suddenly, Selphie appears and hugs a startled Demyx's arm. "GOOD MORNING DEMMYY!"

"Ack! It's 'it'!" Axel immediately steps back.

Selphie ignores him completely, focusing only on Demyx with concern. "Are you alright hon? Does it still hurt somewhere? Are you sure you don't need to go back to the hospital?"

Demyx blushes at the attention she's giving him. "Uhm… Hehe…" He scratches his face sheepishly.

Axel puts an arm around his friend. "My partner here is indestructible. He heals faster than a character in a cartoon. He doesn't need you worrying about him."

"Even so!" Selphie pouts. "He's still a human!"

Demyx's blush deepens, to Axel's clear annoyance, who quickly steps away from him like he's poison. "Thanks for worrying about me Selph… But I'm perfectly okay."

"Selph?" Axel gapes at his childhood friend. "We call her 'it' remember!" But he gets completely ignored. The two are busy staring infatuatedly at each other.

The lovey-dovey aura disgusts Axel. His eye twitches. "Ugh… You sicken me."

Roxas sweat-drops beside him.

"What does he see in her? She's frickin' annoying…" Axel mutters to his other blonde friend in annoyance.

"I think they're a perfect match…" Roxas sweat-drops again at Demyx and Selphie, still busy gazing at the other. "Besides," he turns to Axel teasingly. "I think you're just jealous that she's stealing away your friend from you."

"Pft…" Axel quickly snorts. "Yeah right… Who cares about that buffoon..."

Roxas smirks secretly to himself.

"G'morniiing!" An upbeat voice suddenly greets them.

Axel and Roxas turn around to see Rikku waving at them enthusiastically and smiling.

Demyx finally turns from Selphie to stare curiously at Rikku and Axel.

"Morning…" Roxas greets back in bemusement when Axel completely ignores the blonde girl and looks away casually.

Stubbornly, Rikku takes careful steps closer toward Axel and peeks at his face. "Umm… Good morning Axel."

"It's not a good morning. I hate mornings." He deadpans, still looking away, making Roxas sweat-drop. "I'm more of a night person."

Rikku holds her hands behind her back and grins brightly at him. "Is that so? I'm happy to learn new things about you!" Shyly she adds while staring down at her shoes, "Makes me feel closer to you…"

"Alright," Axel suddenly says, startling her when he turns his face abruptly to look at her, leaning in even closer and staring hard into her eyes.

Rikku bites her lower lip nervously, feeling all giddy and anxious inside.

"Here's one thing about me that you probably don't know:" He tells her darkly, aiming to creep her out. "When I stare at something or someone too hard…" He demonstrates by staring even harder into her eyes. "…They go on fire! Just like that! And sometimes I can't even control it…"

Instead of being scared off, Rikku gapes at him in awe. Her bright green eyes are glistening with a wonder and innocence that makes Axel quickly turn away, flustered.

"Wow! That is _amazing_!" She starts jumping from excitement. "Tell me more! More!" She exclaims eagerly while subconsciously touching his arm.

A dumbfounded Axel looks down at the hand touching his arm and then abruptly shakes it off before pulling an amused Demyx away from Selphie, and roughly pushing him in front of Rikku. "_He_ can tell you!"

Demyx stumbles a few steps – almost crashing into Rikku's bosom – before stopping himself just in time and straightening up. Rikku blinks at him curiously.

Demyx casts an evil glance back at Axel before quickly turning back to Rikku and saying, "Okay! Listen, Ax's biggest turn on—"

Immediately, Axel drags Demyx away with him toward the school building. "Come on we have class!"

"I'll tell you later!" Demyx yells back casually with a goofy grin while his body is being dragged away on the dirt like a corpse.

Rikku happily waves after them while giggling. "Later Demmy! See you guys in class!"

She notices Roxas starting to follow them.

"Don't look at me, I don't know what his turn ons are," Roxas quickly tells her. "I'm not gay… I'm not!"

She sweat-drops. "Umm…Who said you're gay?"

Then she notices a crowd of fangirls standing behind Roxas, screaming, "DON'T BE AFRAID TO ADMIT YOU'RE GAY ROXY! WE SUPPORT YOUR FORBIDDEN LOVE!"

"Who're they?" Rikku asks curiously, sweat-dropping again.

"The yaoi fanclub," he tells her grimly. "They won't leave me alone… they're worse than the fangirls..."

"ROXYYY!" The fangirls cry, making his eye twitch irritatedly. "SORA IS ALREADY INSIDE!"

Roxas whirls around to face them. "SHUT UP!" He snaps angrily. Rikku and the yaoi fangirls stiffen, startled. "I'M NOT GAY! HE'S A GUY AND MY COUSIN AND YOU'RE ALL DELUSIONAL!"

"NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR LOVE!"

"ARGHHHH!" He stomps off toward the school building angrily. "I hate this place!"

Rikku sweat-drops, smiling weakly. "I guess everyone has their own problems…"

_Inside the school building, the hallway_

"Kyaaa! Roxaaas!" The fangirls squeal upon seeing him enter the building.

Roxas silently turns his head and sends them his ultra death-glare. _"First the Yaoi club, and now the fangirls… Calm down Roxas… calm down… Think positive thoughts."_

"Yo Rox!" Axel waves at him, waiting near their lockers with Demyx. "Move it! We're gonna be late for Maleficent's class!"

"…"

"What, did ya forget or something? Geez… I know it's only been a few days since you got here but you shoulda memorized our schedule by now!" Axel smirks.

"Mrs… Maleficent?" Roxas blinks slowly.

"Yeah I know… it sucks doesn't it?" Demyx sighs, his shoulders slumped. "I hate first period…"

"We can ditch… like we always do," Axel shrugs toward Roxas. "But Roxy here actually cares about his academic future… he needs us. We can't let him face the crazy witch alone."

Demyx nods. "True…"

In the background, the Yaoi fangirls caught up with them and are now standing next to his fanclub.

"You have the worst luck ever Rox," Axel chuckles, smirking.

"Let's go," Roxas sighs shortly and starts moving again toward their next class. "And tell me about it…The first impression everyone got of me in this school is that I'm gay… for my cousin," he sighs again miserably. "My day can't get any worse than this..."

Right on cue, a flash of red blur strikes the back of Roxas' head without anyone noticing, and he falls back unconscious instantly on the spot.

Axel and Demyx stop and turn back to look at Roxas. They let out a troubled sigh.

"Geez! My fainting technique for skipping class is ineffective if used twice in the same year! You should know that!" Axel sweat-drops.

"Come on!" Demyx rushes over, takes Roxas' arm, and starts dragging his unconscious body with them toward their class. "We gotta hurry dude!"

_A bit earlier with Sora, Naminé, Kairi and Riku near their lockers…_

"The Halloween party is the day after tomorrow," Kairi says out loud to Sora while they're getting their books out of the locker. Naminé is out of earshot, a bit further away, at her own locker.

"I know that," Sora looks at her impatiently. "Why do you keep telling me?"

"Just reminding you… since you don't have a date for the party yet and you only have two days left to ask Naminé."

"You don't have a date either," Sora points out casually.

"I know that!" She retorts angrily, making Sora smile. "L-Lots of guys asked me out already you know, I-I'm just waiting for the right one!"

"Maybe you should stop being so picky," Riku interjects coolly, leaning on the locker behind Kairi. "It's just one date for a party. No big deal."

"_Yes big deal_," Kairi retorts, whirling around to glare at the silver-head. "I can't go with just _anyone_!"

Naminé comes over and joins them silently. Everyone turns their head to acknowledge her presence. She stares down at her feet shyly. "Umm… First period is starting soon…"

"You and Sora share the same classes," Kairi smiles at the new blonde addition of their group. "Why don't you go together?" She turns to Sora and winks.

Both Sora and Naminé look around them awkwardly.

"Uhh…"

"Um…"

Suddenly, a girl pops up between them Yuffie-style, facing Sora. "Sora, c-can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Uh, sure…" Sora nods hesitantly and then follows the girl to the other, less crowded side of the hallway.

Kairi notices Naminé watching them curiously and leans in, whispering, "You should get used to it. Sora gets a lot of confessions from girls from time to time and he has to reject each one… It's difficult for him…"

"I see…" Naminé nods slowly, watching as Sora bows his head down a bit apologetically in front of the dejected-looking girl.

"You have to claim Sora before any of the fangirls do!" Kairi stares hard at Naminé seriously. "They're desperate now; they'll do anything to get him… ANYTHING!"

Naminé sweat-drops. "I-I don't want to get in a relationship right now… I'm not ready…"

"Ready?" Kairi exclaims loudly, making Naminé sweat-drop again. "You're not _getting married_ to him! And Sora won't get _that_ far with your relationship, if that's what you're worried about; he's an old fashioned idiot!"

Nam flushes instantly, stutters out some unintelligible words before turning around and hurriedly fleeing toward hers and Sora's first class.

"What?" Kairi throws her arms in the air frustratedly. "Why are my cupid skills not working? They should be together by now!"

"Give up Kai," Riku says coolly behind her. "Let things go naturally. Be glad Sora is not gay after all."

"Of course he isn't!" Kairi exclaims, whirling around to face Riku. "Sora is the kind that chooses their lifetime mate carefully. He doesn't play around like _you_ do…"

Riku snorts, getting off the locker to get ready to head to their first class.

"How are things with Yuffie?" Kairi asks all of a sudden, eying the silver-head carefully. "You two seem awfully close lately…"

"Heh…Why? Jealous?" Riku smirks arrogantly.

She shakes her head quickly, pouting, "Nope. Not at all."

"Don't worry, you'll find someone… eventually," Riku's smirk stretches in amusement when Kairi's cute pout deepens.

Her shoulders slump miserably as she walks after Riku. "I still haven't found a date for the Halloween party! What am I going to dooo?"

Suddenly, she notices Marluxia passing by and stops.

"Hey! Mar!" She waves at him enthusiastically.

He pauses and turns to face her questioningly. "Yes?"

"Can you be my date for the party?"

He is startled. "I-I refuse!"

She frowns disappointedly. "Why? Oh right, you're gay…" She sighs at the floor as Marluxia leaves awkwardly.

Then, somehow, she spots Zexion next passing by after Marluxia.

"Zexion!" She exclaims hopefully.

"…?" Zexion freezes, and then hesitantly turns around to face her with wide open eyes, looking mighty shocked.

"Be my date for the party!"

"…!" He blinks at her silently in shock. _"She can see me? But I'm supposed to be invisible…" _He wonders in his head with utter bewilderment.

She soon forgets about his existence, however, when she notices Roxas passing by along with Axel and Demyx, rubbing the back of his head and wincing in pain.

"Roxas!" She yells after him quickly. "Be my date for the party!"

Roxas turns to her as his friend continue on without him, and bluntly replies, "No."

"Why?" She cries in a whiny voice.

The Yaoi fangirls pop out of nowhere Yuffie-style, "KYAAAAH! 'CAUSE HE'S _GAY_!"

Roxas whirls around and explodes at them, "NO! I'M NOT GAY! I'M JUST NOT GOING TO THE DAMN PARTY!"

"Whyyy?" Kairi whines, following him persistently. "It's gonna be lots of fun and everyone's going! Sheesh! It's not a lifelong commitment, just one lousy date to a party! Please?"

"Why don't you ask other guys?" He retorts over his shoulder irritatedly.

"Because they'll agree right away and I'm tired of easy guys going all over me… you're refreshing! Besides, you're Sora's cousin right, you must be as good as he is!"

"If you like Sora so much, why don't you ask him instead?"

"Ew! He's like a brother to me! We've been friends for so long that it almost feels like incest. Pretty please!"

He stops and sighs, and then turns around and studies her pleading puppy-face silently, starting to sweat nervously.

"I definitely can't go with you!" He eventually mutters, hurriedly turning away and speed-walking.

"Why the hell not!" She yells frustratedly, following him again.

"Y-You and Sora remind me too much of someone!" He tells her reluctantly.

"Who?"

"…"

"Tell me!"

"I can't go out with you okay!" He snaps and quickens his pace. "Just leave it at that…"

Kai stops suddenly. "Are you gay?"

Roxas freezes on the spot, a couple of feet away.

"It's OK, you can tell me... I'll be cool with it."

Roxas whirls around abruptly. "I AM NOT FREAKIN' GAY!" And with that, he stomps off angrily toward his class, followed by the Yaoi fangirls' squeals.

Kairi pouts. "Why is he in such a bad mood? Hmph!"

Right then, Tidus exits the guys' bathroom in front of Kairi.

She grins like a predator. "Tidus!"

_"Oh shit,"_ Tidus spots her and panics, troubled. "I-I'm going with Yuna!" He exclaims while making a dash for it.

"LIAR!" She yells after him angrily, raising a fist at him. "I heard from Yuna she turned you down!"

She sighs miserably all of a sudden and slumps against the locker next to her. The hallway is empty now; everyone has gone off toward their first classes. Except for Zexion, standing next to her and studying her curiously in silence.

"Why does no one want to be my date? I'm cute, nice and funny…" She murmurs sadly to Zexion without looking at him.

" …!" Zexion's eyes widen in shock once more. _"She can definitely see me! P-Perhaps this is the perfect opportunity for me to—"_ He is about to speak out loud, when suddenly, she gets off the locker and walks away toward her classroom.

_"Two days until party and no date… This can't happen to me! Isabella will never let me hear the end of it…" _She thinks miserably. _"I must find a date…"_

"…." Zexion then quietly leaves as well. _"No matter… I have to focus on my studies."_

_Meanwhile, at Sora's and Naminé's class…_

Just as Sora enters the class, the fangirls immediately start squealing and causing a racket:

"KYAAAAAAAAAH! SORAAA COME SIT NEXT TO ME!"

"NO, NEXT TO _ME_!"

"NO _ME_!"

"SHUT UP WHORE! SORA IS MINE!"

"HE'S _MINE_!"

"SORAAA! CHECK ME OUT! I DYED MY HAIR BROWN SO WE WOULD MATCH!"

"Fuck you!"

"My hair's naturally brown, unlike you bitch!"

Sora sweat-drops while standing at the entrance. He spots Naminé at her usual seat in the back and smiles before going over to her, completely ignoring the fangirls' war around him.

"Hey," he says while sitting on the chair next to her, grinning happily.

"Hey," she turns her head and smiles back briefly.

Sora's grin stretches. He is too busy focusing on her that he doesn't notice three of his countless friends – two guys from his basketball team and a tomboy – come over and surround their desks. Not until he sees the uneasy look on Naminé's face.

He turns his head and grins when he finally notices them. "Oh hey guys… When did you get here?" He chuckles nervously. "I didn't notice you…"

They smirk mischievously at him.

"Too busy staring at your girlfriiiend?" The tomboy teases playfully.

Naminé flushes hard, starting to fidget in her seat as the fangirls stop fighting each other and turn to glare at her murderously.

"Nah…" Sora chuckles sheepishly, blushing slightly. "Right now, we're just friends."

His friends start to snicker while Naminé shrinks embarrassedly in her seat.

"What?" He blinks at them confusedly.

"You said 'Right now'…" One of the guys point out, grinning.

"Oh…" Sora finally realizes what he's said, blushing.

His friends burst out laughing at his reaction.

"The guy has a plan!" The other guy chuckles.

"You're so obvious Sora!" The tomboy giggles, playfully hitting Sora's shoulder.

"Anyway," Sora quickly changes the subject. "She's part of our group now…" He turns to Naminé with a grin.

That's when Sora's friends start bombarding her with personal questions. They're friendly but all the attention Naminé is getting from everyone in the room is too much for her. She is unable to answer them. Instead, she stares down at her lap miserably.

Suddenly, Sora starts answering their questions for her. "This is Naminé's first year in Twilight High. She transferred here from another high school after her mom passed away…" He turns to Naminé with the same cheerful, reassuring smile. "Isn't that Nam?"

"Y-Yeah…" She nods at her lap nervously.

Sora's friends sympathize with her loss immediately. When they start getting touchy with Naminé, Sora quickly shoos them off. They laugh, exchanging knowing grins.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me!" The tomboy winks at Naminé, who manages a small smile back.

One of the guys opens his cellphone. "Hey can I have your number—"

Just before Sora can react, the tomboy drags away the guy with the cellphone while hissing a bit too loudly in his ear, "She's off-limits! She's obviously Sora's!"

The guy frowns disappointedly and leaves, still staring at Naminé from a distance though. Sora watches him carefully until he looks away, and then finally relaxes in his chair.

Once they've left and everyone's attention left her, Naminé turns her head to smile gratefully at Sora, _"Thank you, Sora…"_

_Meanwhile in Roxas and his friends' class…_

Axel is leaning back coolly on his chair at the front, his shoes on the table, busy listening to his Ipod. Next to him is Demyx's seat, and behind him is Roxas.

Rikku is sitting somewhere in the middle, watching the subject of her affection from the distance and sighing. Demyx looks back and frowns when he notices how sad Rikku is.

"Hey Rikku," he calls out.

The blonde turns her head to face him curiously. "What's up Demmy?"

"Wanna switch seats? I don't wanna sit in front of the witch…" Demyx grins. Next to him, Axel – who's been eavesdropping secretly – tenses, but manages to hide it well, pretending to be engrossed with the song playing in his Ipod.

Rikku's eyes widen as she is fully aware that Demyx's seat is the one right next to Axel, the guy she's in love with. "A-Are you sure?"

Demyx winks at her and nods his head toward Axel.

"Okay." She smiles, getting up.

As Demyx gets up, Axel sends him a 'don't-you-dare-do-it' glare. Demyx innocently grins back at him as he's on his way toward Rikku's chair.

When Rikku appears and sits down on Demyx's seat, Axel faces away, distracting himself with the Ipod. Rikku keeps staring in his direction, making him feel awkward. Eventually he pulls off the earpieces frustratedly and starts flirting with the fangirl sitting on the other side of him.

Roxas sweat-drops behind him. _"Poor Rikku…"_

Suddenly, Tifa enters the classroom. Axel completely forgets both Rikku and the fangirl and beams at the sight of her. "Yo Teef!"

Tifa glares at him as she stops at the head of the classroom. He smirks back casually in return.

Rikku watches Axel's beaming face and frowns to herself. _"What does she have that I don't have?"_ She notices Tifa's large bosom and cups her own smaller ones. _"Boobs?" _She sighs miserably in her head.

"Ahem!" Tifa suddenly coughs in her fist for attention. "Mrs. Maleficent is busy in a meeting with the school board, so another teacher will substitute for her."

_Silence. _And then the whole class starts celebrating abruptly:

"YESSS! OH MY FUCKING GOD YESSS!"

"THANK YOU GOD!"

"MY PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED!"

"Like, we're finally getting a break from that witch!"

"Bliss," Fuu says simply.

A random person turns back to Seifer and exclaims, "YO SEIFER! Looks like you're not gonna have detention today!"

Seifer smirks to himself, obviously glad. Maleficent loves to give him detentions. _Especially_ him.

Tifa continues over the noise, "Originally, it was going to be Xemnas…"

The class groans.

"…But he was involved in a weird accident earlier, I'm sure you've all heard of the 'flash of red blur' rumor... so he can't make it."

Everyone sighs with relief.

Then Tifa adds, "So Mrs. Maleficent recommended another teacher to substitute…"

All eyes shift to the door as said person enters: Saix, smirking evilly.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

_Later, in the middle of their lesson with Mr. Saix…_

Everyone is trying their best throughout the lesson to not make their substitute teacher angry. They sit in their seats like statues, without a word or a movement. They have succeeded so far until suddenly, someone drops a pen.

They all tense when Saix freezes, disturbed by the sound. He walks over eerily toward the random guy that's dropped his pen, sweating bullets as he imagines his life flashing before his eyes.

To everyone's surprise, Saix calmly picks up the pen and puts it back on the guy's desk. "Be careful next time son."

The random guy nods quickly.

Suddenly, a fangirl in front sighs out loud with relief and freezes, realizing her mistake. Saix stiffens. Everyone is tense again.

But to their second relief, Saix only glares hard at the fangirl who's sighed out loud quietly for a while before moving on and proceeding with the lesson normally. They relax.

Meanwhile, a bee is flying around Demyx.

"AHA!" Saix whirls around at Demyx swiftly, startling the whole class and almost giving some a heart-attack. "YOU'RE CHATTING IN CLASS AGAIN!"

The entire class panics, sweating nervously.

"N-No Sir, Mr. Saix Sir! That was a bee buzzing around me! I swear!"

"YOU LIE! First it's a FLY and now it's a BEE! YOU DARE LIE TWICE!"

Dem cowers in his seat, sobbing now, "I'M REALLY SORRY SIR, I SWEAR IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN! PLEASE DON'T THROW ME SIR!"

Saix suddenly relaxes, his calm persona resurfacing once again. "It is alright Demyx. I understand. But this shall be your last warning, are we in an agreement?"

Dem nods frantically.

The lesson continues again. Demyx relaxes and turns his head casually to the direction of the windows.

To his utter shock, the chakrams are hovering just outside, glittering sinisterly at him. He rubs his eyes with his hands to make sure he's not imagining them. But unfortunately for him, they're still there, mocking him. He looks around to see if anyone has noticed this, but everyone seems oblivious to the chakrams' existence.

Suddenly, he remembers their promise to come back to get him in later days and starts counting his fingers. "BUT IT HAS ONLY BEEN A COUPLE OF DAYS!" He exclaims out loud without noticing.

_Dreadful silence._

Saix whirls around from the board suddenly and snaps, "I KNEW IT, YOU'RE CHATTING IN CLASS YOU RASCAL!" He walks over toward a terrified-to-the-point-of-immobility Demyx, picks him up from the back of his shirt, and carries him to the door. "TO DETENTION!" He throws him across the hallway toward the end like he's made of paper.

Then their teacher, Saix, turns back to glare at the rest of his class. Everyone straightens up immediately, terrorized.

All except Axel, who still has his cool. "Hey," he quickly defends his friend. "He was just talking to himself. He wasn't chatting with anyone. You practically scared everyone speechless man."

A vein pops up on Saix's forehead, making everyone's eyes widen in horror and preparing themselves to take shelter under their desks in case he explodes.

Saix is about to open his mouth to speak when Axel stands up abruptly and makes his way past him toward the door. "I know, I know. Detention. Way ahead of you."

Rikku stands up abruptly after Axel has left, angry. "S-SIR! That was totally unfair! Axel didn't do anything wrong! He was defending his friend!"

Everyone else gawks at her bravery.

Saix glares at her calmly. "Why don't you join him?"

"Why NOT!"

"Because you don't have another choice. You either go there by your own feet, or I throw you. Which do you prefer miss Rikku?" He asks her calmly.

Under his menacing glare, Rikku quickly looks away, gulping nervously. "F-Fine!" She stomps off toward the door after the others.

Saix then turns to Seifer suddenly, pointing a finger at him. "YOU! JOIN THEM!"

Seifer gawps at him. "What the FUCK? What did I do?"

"Seifer Almasy, is that right? Maleficent told me about you specifically," Saix reveals, and Seifer sighs, understanding it's the work of the witch. "Besides, you just swore in class. Detention."

"I hate this place…" Seifer mutters while leaving to what has become his morning routine. Detention.

Roxas sweat-drops where he is. _"Well at least I'm not getting dragged into detention without any reason anymore…" _As if reading his thoughts, Saix turns his face abruptly to glare at him. Roxas' eyes widen in shock. _"N-No way!"_

"Roxas!" Saix calls out, putting a suspicious hand in his pocket.

Roxas panics. "W-Wait a sec—"

Suddenly, Saix pulls out some money. "…Here, go buy me coffee from the cafeteria."

"…"

"And be quick about it! You have three minutes, you're late, you're finished!"

_Later at Yuffie's Anti-Riku Club…_

Yuffie finally has some members. Two who have recently joined. Zexion and… the school's janitor.

"Mr. Janitor sir, why do you hate Prick?" Yuffie asks while standing at the head of the classroom, attempting to open up a topic for their club to discuss. "State your reasons everybody!"

The school janitor tells them the sad, sad story when Sora has missed the trash can in middle school, where he used to work as well, because Riku has interceded. The silver-head has caused Sora to lose his perfect record of non-littering.

"Sora… that kind precious boy… a fine young gentleman… never littered in his life… until… until…!" He sobs into his arms dramatically.

Yuffie comforts him by patting his back. "There, there… What a sad, sad story… Prick is a menace even to the environment!" She shakes her head before turning to the ever silent Zexion, calmly reading a book in his seat. "What about you Zex?"

"…"

"I see," Yuffie nods understandingly. "Your hate for him is so profound and deep that you lack words to phrase it…"

"He is evil," Zex suddenly whispers while reading his book.

Yuffie and the Janitor nod, completely agreeing with him.

"By the way… Does any of you two know if the Prick's um… pure or not?"

The Janitor and Zexion look at her suspiciously.

"J-Just thought to make a database of our enemy… it's a cool idea… d-don't you agree?"

"I might have an idea…" Zexion mutters quietly.

Yuffie beams at him. "Really? That's great! Tell me Zex!"

"I will…" He stares into her eyes carefully. "…If you kiss me."

She is taken-aback. "Wh-What?"

"I have to be certain that you're not loyal to him."

"I-I asked you to be my date for the Halloween party didn't I?" She smiles nervously.

"It means nothing," Zexion deadpans calmly.

"Fine. Then I'll just have to prove it to you!" She grabs his collar roughly and pushes him toward her face.

Their lips touch just as Riku is entering the classroom.

"Can't believe you're still coming to your memberless clu—" He stops abruptly at the doorway, eyes widening slightly in shock.

Yuffie lets go of Zexion abruptly and steps back, feeling as though she's been caught cheating for some reason.

Riku quickly regains his composure and turns back to leave while saying casually, "Just came to see if you're gonna help look for Sora's creepy fanboy. Guess you're busy, hmph…" And with that, he leaves.

_Awkward silence._

_"He looked bothered,"_ Zexion thinks with inner satisfaction, secretly smirking to himself.

"Hey!" Yuffie suddenly snaps out of her daze, running out after Riku. "I'm not gonna let you beat me to it Prick! I will figure out who Sora's fanboy is first!"

Calmly, Zexion returns to reading his back while the school Janitor leaves to go back to do his job.

Meanwhile, at the hallway, near Selphie's locker…

A couple of members from the Yaoi club are surrounding their leader, Selphie, at her locker.

"Are you going to tell them who Sora's fanboy is?" One of the girls asks her.

"Leader, I think you shouldn't tell your friends. They seem homophobic; they'll probably hurt the poor guy," the other adds.

Selphie, however, isn't listening to them at all. She opens her locker and sighs dreamily at the new picture she's stuck over her previous crushes'. Demyx's.

"Demyx?" The girls exclaim at the same time in disbelief, making revolted faces.

"Ew! The guy's a loser and a freak!" One of them adds with disgust.

Selphie ignores them completely, beaming as she notices Demyx coming down the hallway in her direction. "DEM-DEM!" She skips over to him with heart-shaped eyes. The Yaoi fangirls sweat-drop.

"O-Oh! Hey Selph…" He grins sheepishly, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"They released you from detention? Oh I'm so glad! I MISSED YOU DEM-DEM!" She throws herself at him and hugs him tightly.

Behind Demyx, Axel is watching the scene in disgust, having just got out of detention as well.

"Why won't you talk to me?" Rikku besides him asks in a whiny voice. "You didn't even look at me once when we were in detention…"

"..."

"Do you hate me?" She asks quietly.

"Ugh," Axel makes a disgusted face while watching Demyx and Selphie hug, making Rikku's green eyes widen in fear, thinking that his reaction has to do with her question. "They sicken me."

She frowns sadly to herself. _"You aren't even listening to me..."_

_Flashback, Rikku at Paine's house, in her bedroom, sitting on Paine's bed…_

"Axel? The guy you love is _Axel_?"

"Yeah…" Rikku nods shyly, blushing. And then, giggling, she adds, "Why do you look so shocked?"

"The guy's a whore," Paine says bluntly, making Rikku giggle harder. "He'd flirt with himself if he could. Wait, he probably already did that."

"He is Axel…" Rikku laughs, shrugging a bit, a warm look in her eyes.

Paine watches her with surprise. "And you still love him?"

Rikku shrugs again helplessly. "With all my heart."

"Why?" Paine asks, puzzled.

Rikku smiles softly. "He's a great guy…"

Paine slowly raises an eyebrow. "Are you high?"

Rikku chuckles again, shaking her head. "No! He really is a great guy!"

"He's player. You'll just be one of his sex toys," she puts a hand on Rikku's. "I'm your friend; I'm worried about you."

Rikku takes her friend's hand and squeezes it. "Trust me Paine," she tells her softly. "He's not as bad as he makes people think."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Demmy. He talks to me about Axel sometimes…" Rikku grins mischievously.

"_He_ tells you or _you_ make him talk?"

She sticks out her tongue playfully.

Paine snickers. "I knew it," she lets out a weary sigh. "Anyway… Good luck with that one. He's a hard catch. Be prepared for disappointment."

"Paaiiine!" Rikku whines, pouting childishly at the other girl. "What kind of best friend are you, telling me these things instead of encouraging me!"

"I just don't want to see you end up getting hurt from expecting too much… idiot," she smiles a bit at the last word.

_End of flashback_

_"Paine… Now I understand what you meant back then…" _She puts a clenched fist over her chest. _"One-sided love… Hurts… Hurts a lot..."_

Meanwhile, Axel steps toward Selphie and Demyx, glaring at the brunette girl angrily. "Oy! Let go of him, it! We have somewhere to go!"

Selphie lets go, blinking at Axel confusedly. "Huh? Where? Are you gonna sneak out of school again?"

"None of your business, it."

"You can't!" Selphie exclaims suddenly.

"Like hell I can't!" Axel snaps at her intimidatingly.

"No wonder Dem-Dem kept repeating his subjects! You're a bad influence on him! I can't let him go with you, from now on, I'm gonna help Dem-Dem graduate with us!"

"You're starting to piss me off…" Axel leans his head forward to glare at Selphie threateningly. Selphie does the same, glaring back at him stubbornly.

Demyx quickly goes over to his childhood friend's side and puts a calming hand on his shoulder to keep him from losing his temper. "Calm down dude… She's just a girl."

Axel relaxes somewhat, leaning back and snorting.

Smiling, Demyx turns to Selphie enthusiastically. "'Course I'll join you!"

Axel turns his head sharply to gawk at Demyx. "Join it? Join it where?"

"Yay!" Selphie exclaims at the same time, clapping her hands together. "I cooked a few dishes while I was at my cooking club, I hope you'll like them! I'm a good cook! Oh and I made some cookies too!" She winks at him.

Demyx chuckles with her and then turns to face Axel sheepishly. "She asked me to have lunch with her at the school yard."

"…"

"It's alright man… you can go ahead without me... hehe..."

Calmly, Axel grabs Demyx's arm to drag him with him. "No jokes, you're coming with me. We're going to have lunch at the mall like we originally planned to."

Suddenly, Selphie grabs Demyx's other arm. "He can make his own decisions! Stop dragging him along with you to the darkside!"

"Let go of him it, _or_ _I'm going to burn your fucking hair out_!" Axel glares intensely back at her.

Demyx panics between them, "A-Axel! Chill out man!"

Selphie pulls Demyx toward her. "I am not going to let you ruin Dem-Dem's future!"

"For your information, it, Dem doesn't like you , he likes _Rikku_," Axel tells her quietly to taunt her, sneering.

"But Rikku likes you so it wasn't going to work out!" Selphie retorts. "Poor Dem-Dem is heartbroken and now I'm trying to help him recover because… because... I like him!" She turns her head to face a blushing Demyx and smiles softly. "I really do…"

Axel turns to Demyx in disbelief. "You told it? You told it all that? Dumbass! You've only known it for a few days!"

"About Rikku? The whole school knows she likes you now..." Selphie rolls her eyes, making Axel narrow his eyes at her in silent fury. "Poor girl!"

"And that's not true Ax…" Demyx adds. "You and I both know that we've known Selph longer than that. I just really started to get to know her till few days ago and…" He looks back at Selphie warmly, blushing a bit. "I'm starting to like her too."

"Dem-Dem…" Selphie's eyes sparkle with utter joy.

Demyx holds out his hand for her, smiling softly. "Come on Selph… Let's go have lunch together! I really wanna try your cookies."

"Yeah!" She nods gleefully while taking his hand. They walk away together, holding hands.

"…" Axel stares at them with disgust, barely restraining himself from setting Selphie on fire. "You've got to be kidding me..." He mutters out loud once he's alone.

Moments later, he notices Roxas coming to check his locker.

"Yo Roxy!" Axel smirks. "Wanna ditch school, go out, have fun?"

"I'm not going to ditch school," Roxas raises an incredulous eyebrow at him.

"What a nerd," Axel mutters, hiding his disappointment.

"I'm not a nerd! I just want to graduate," Roxas glares at him.

"Whatever," Axel starts leaving, waving a hand. "I guess I'm going by myself. Later, Nerd!"

"Wait... Demyx is not with you?" Roxas' eyes widen in surprise. "Wow, that's a first…" He mutters to himself in wonder.

_The school gym_

"Where's Axel?" Kairi asks Roxas and Demyx curiously while they're all sitting on the bench, watching as their school's basketball team is practicing for the game tomorrow.

"Do you even have to ask?" Yuffie replies tiredly. "It's Axel. He's obviously skipping classes again."

"But usually Demyx is with him…" Kairi points out, looking at Demyx's direction.

"That's true," Sora blinks at Demyx curiously.

"Yeah... Weird," Yuffie says at the same time.

Demyx smiles at Selphie next to him, blushing. "Selph convinced me to stay…hehe…"

Selphie quickly wraps her arms around Demyx's and nods forcefully. "That's right! Axel is a bad influence! It's his fault Dem-Dem hasn't graduated yet!" She turns to 'Dem-Dem' scoldingly. "Just because he's your dear friend doesn't mean that you should follow everything _he_ does! He's ruining his future by his own will; you don't have to do the same. Be as smart as Roxy and have control over your own life!"

Demyx sighs, nodding slowly. "You're right…" He mumbles while looking down and frowning a bit. "But Ax…." He stops and doesn't say anymore.

"Woow! Who knew Selph can give such good advice!" Kairi giggles.

"She's unpredictable," Sora says to Naminé next to him, grinning. The blonde snickers silently.

"Are you two together?" Yuffie asks bluntly, pointing at Demyx and Selphie.

They look at each other and blush, smiling.

"You are?" Kairi exclaims, and then smiles. "Congratulations! I hope I'm next!" She adds jokingly.

"You're definitely suited for each other…" Sora remarks, making everyone chuckle.

"Riku did ya hear?" Kairi looks up at the silver-head who's joined them briefly to drink water. "They're together!"

Riku turns his head to stare at her moodily. Kairi cringes a bit. "Wh-What's with _you_?"

Riku silently throws the empty water bottle in her hands, and then rejoins the rest of his team.

Meanwhile, two guys from Sora's and Riku's team join them briefly, taking a break.

"Too bad you can't play with us Sor," one of the guys tells Sora regretfully. "Hope your ankle heals soon."

Sora grins at them guiltily. "Sorry guys…"

They look at Naminé then. "You're cute," the other guy comments. "Are you Sora's girlfriend? 'Bout time you got yourself a girl," they snicker at Sora. "The team was startin' to think you're asexual!"

The fangirls quickly gather close in the background, glaring into Naminé's direction hatefully. Naminé fidgets, secretly thinking of finding an excuse to escape.

"N-No… W-W-We're not…" Naminé tells them weakly without looking into their eyes. The guys turn to blink at her curiously, expecting her to say something more.

Sora is oblivious of his fangirls' existence. He laughs heartily. "She's not my girlfriend…"

"Yet..." Kairi, Yuffie and Selphie add quietly at the same time, smirking teasingly.

Sora scratches the back of his head sheepishly, grinning. Neither confirming nor denying their so far ambiguous relationship.

"Really? Awesome!" One of the guys exclaim excitedly. "Maybe you'd rather go out with me?" He asks Naminé flirtingly.

She blushes tomato red, hanging her head down even further. Everyone laughs as Sora playfully kicks at the guy who's made Naminé blush.

Naminé abruptly stands up, clutching her sketchbook tightly to her chest, instantly catching everyone's attention. "U-Umm… I-I have to go!" She quickly rushes out of the gym.

"Wait, where are you going?" Kairi shouts after her.

"I-I'll be back!" Naminé shouts back.

"She must have gone to the restroom," Yuffie shrugs.

"She is very shy…" One of the guys comments, smiling.

"So cute," the other guy, the one who's flirted with the blonde, smirks.

Later, after Sora's teammates has left to get back to their practice, Kairi leans toward Sora and whispers into his ear, "Naminé has been getting a lot of attention from other guys lately…"

Sora nods absentmindedly. "You're right. They're like animals… wanting her all for themselves."

Kairi sweat-drops, mentally thinking, _"Speak of yourself…"_


	26. I'm going to get you, Yuffie Kisaragi

Chapter 26

_After school…_

Riku has stayed behind to continue their school's basketball team practice while the others are preparing to go home.

Meanwhile, Axel has gone back to the school to pick up Demyx, and decided to pay Nurse Tifa a visit at her office before leaving with his childhood friend to their apartment.

Rikku frowns sadly when she hears about this from Demyx at the school entrance.

Demyx eyes her sympathetically. Selphie instantly feels jealous beside him and clings on his arm possessively.

"He's not serious about Teef you know," Demyx tells Rikku softly, trying to comfort her.

Rikku nods slowly with her head hanging low. "I know…"

"Actually, Axel has told me once that he thinks you're the hottest girl in our school!" Demyx adds cheerfully, making Selphie pout jealously at him.

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up Demmy…" Rikku smiles up gratefully at him a bit, obviously not convinced.

"It's really the truth! He really did say that!"

"You're a great friend…" Rikku's smile stretches softly as she looks at both him and Selphie. "Congratulations by the way… I heard you two are going out!"

"Yup!" Selphie exclaims suddenly, smiling brightly and hugging Demyx closer to her. "We're together!"

"Y-Yeah… we are," Demyx grins weakly, scratching the back of his neck nervously and blushing a bit. "Thanks."

"Aww! You're really cute together!" Rikku giggles, all cheered up now.

_Meanwhile with Axel at Tifa's office…_

"You're bound to break apart someday…" Tifa tells Axel softly as he's lying back on one of the empty beds. "You'll still see each other, but his mate will inevitably become more important than you… you just have to learn to deal with it."

"Pft… Dem and it aren't going to last long. 'It' is fickle, will dump him eventually, you can count on that!"

Tifa sighs, suppressing a smile. "Maybe it's time you find _yourself_ a girlfriend too…"

"Are you volunteering babe?" Axel turns his head to smirk at her slyly, joking.

Tifa shakes her head, grinning. "I already have a handful boyfriend. What do I need another for?" She jokes.

Axel chuckles, getting up to leave.

"But I mean it, seriously," Tifa says sternly all of a sudden, momentarily stopping him as he reaches the door. "You should find yourself a girlfriend. Stop whoring around. It's not healthy," she pauses briefly before softly adding, "And get _over_ her… she's not worth ruining your life over—"

"_See ya_ Nurse Teef," Axel grins back at her drily before slamming the door shut behind him.

Once outside, Axel looks around for Demyx near the school entrance, but he's nowhere at sight. He searches around for him at the school's parking lot.

"Where the hell did he go? I told him to wait around here!"

He is about to take out his cellphone to call him when Rikku suddenly opens her car window next to him.

"Oh! He's already left to walk Selphie home!" She exclaims with a sympathetic look.

Axel turns and gapes at her. "What the hell? He left me for _it_?"

Rikku giggles with mirth. "Aren't you happy for him?" She asks quickly, hoping to strike a conversation with her love interest.

"Don't you think they're going way too fast?" Axel complains, looking annoyed.

"They're in love!"

"Pft… Love…" He rolls his eyes.

Rikku blinks at him curiously. "You don't believe in love?"

"Nope. It's me, Axel, got it memorized? I don't believe in that crap."

"But why?"

He stares at her quietly, realizing that she's trying to keep him. He sympathizes with her efforts and decides to go along for a while. "I don't think it exists. People just want to get into each other's pants. That's the basic idea." He slowly raises a tedious eyebrow at her all of a sudden. "Do _you_ believe in this love crap?"

"Why do you think I confessed to you… because I just wanted to 'get in your pants'?" She replies sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

He smirks. "More or less..."

She can't control the blush exploding on her face, causing Axel's dirty smirk to stretch. "See ya babe!" He waves a casual hand while turning and walking away toward his car.

As soon as he's gone, Rikku lets out a restrained girlish squeal, burying her head on the wheel.

Axel pauses as he's getting out his car keys from his pocket, having heard her squeal. He suppresses a smile, shaking his head while getting into his car.

_Meanwhile at the fangirls' secret base_

"Girls! We have to stop Sora from asking Naminé out!" Isabella – their leader – exclaims.

"But Isabella, Sora is totally smitten over Naminé; I doubt there's anything we can do right now that'll change his mind about her!" One of the fangirls says.

"But I'm kind of glad that he likes girls y'know… I was starting to worry Sora is gay!" Another expresses with relief.

"Why her! What's so special about that slut!" A random fangirl hisses enviously.

"She's the first and only girl he's shown interest for so far…" Another states sadly.

"Kyaah! Sora is so loyal!" Another random fangirl squeals girlishly from the crowd.

"Handsome!"

"Sweet!"

"Hot!"

"Funny!"

"Filial!"

"Adorable!"

"Innocent!"

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAH!" All of them squeal at the same time.

"Exactly!" Isabella says vehemently, nodding. "He's any girls' dream guy. We can't let Naminé win! We can't let her be the one to take Sora's innocence!"

All of them gasp dramatically in horror. "She's going to take our Sora's innocence?"

"That bitch!"

"Sora's first…is MINE!"

"Shut up whore, Sora's going to be MINE!"

"I'M going to be the one to turn him into a man!"

"I dyed my hair green today! Tee-hee!"

"NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR FUCKING HAIR!" Everyone snaps at her at the same time.

"Girls, ORDER! ORDER PLEASE!" Isabella yells over the noise to get their attention. Everyone is quiet in a second, so she continues, "Naminé must be stopped! She's seducing Sora! That freaky bitch is using him to become the new Ms. Popular! Being the one to accomplish such a great feat as taking Sora's sacred innocence…it's all part of her plot!"

Everyone gasps dramatically again.

"SHE'S USING OUR SORA-KUN!"

"We have to stop that manipulative slut!"

"DEATH TO THE SLUT!"

"Sora's sacred innocence is the key to her popularity! She'll probably dump him after that! We should stop her before she does the WooHoo with him!"

Everyone gasps even more dramatically again.

"That's exactly correct!" Isabella exclaims darkly. "It's our responsibility as Sora's fans to protect his innocence from that dirty slut's touch! Don't let them be alone together!"

"YES MA'AM!"

_Meanwhile as Yuffie is exiting the school building…_

She spots Solana waiting for her near the entrance.

"Solana?" Yuffie stops and blinks at her curiously. "What do you want?"

"Have you forgotten our deal?" Solana asks sharply.

"Deal? Oh you mean getting the info about the prick…" Yuffie nods at the ground thoughtfully. "Well… Y'see… The thing is…" She looks up, grins mischievously and shrugs. "Deal's off! Like I'd help you, my enemies…"

"Ugh…" Solana looks away with disgust and irritation.

"But thanks a bunch!" Yuffie smiles mockingly back while starting to walk past her. "You gave me a great idea for my club! We're creating a database for the prick too! It's going to be even cooler than yours! You know why right? It's 'cause I'm _always_ near my enemy! I can get any information about him that I want _easily_!" She breaks out into an evil laugh, making the people passing around her give her weird looks, but like always, she's careless to them.

Solana snaps suddenly and whirls around to yell at her, "AF IF PRI—I MEAN RIKU WILL TELL YOU ANYTHING! HE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT YOU AND HE NEVER WILL YOU DYKE!"

"Blah blah blah I'm a jealous bitch blah blah blah!" Yuffie covers her ears and starts skipping away, irritating Solana even more.

"GRR! Whatever! We don't need your help! Hmph!" She walks off moodily.

_Starbucks with Sora, Kairi, Naminé and Roxas…_

Sora is staring at the chocolate cake he's eating quietly while the others are busy chatting with each other around him.

Naminé's the only one who notices how unusually calm he is. _"I wonder what's up with him…"_

"Hey! Sora!" Kairi suddenly smacks his head for attention.

"Ow! What?" Sora looks up and frowns at her in annoyance, rubbing his head.

Kairi glances at Naminé sideways mischievously, starting to smirk. "Aren't you going to ask Naminé to be your date for the Halloween party?"

Naminé's face explodes into a blush.

"H-Huh?" Sora looks at Naminé sitting opposite of him beside the red-head nervously, beginning to blush himself. "U-Uhh…"

"I-I'm not going!" Naminé blurts out suddenly, getting everyone's attention.

"You're not going to the party?" Roxas looks at her with mild surprise. "Me too."

"Oh yes you are!" Kairi retorts, pouting at her. "I already prepared a costume for you!"

"You did?" Naminé blinks at her with surprise.

"Yup! I design clothes, it's my hobby," Kairi tells her with a playful grin. "So don't say you're not coming, 'cause you are and I already called your dad and told him I'm taking you there!"

"What? You're taking her?" Sora gawks at the red-head, dropping his fork. He points at Naminé dramatically. "NAMINÉ'S your date?"

"Since you're too chicken to ask her, yeah, I just did!" She sticks her tongue at him playfully and then wraps her arms around Naminé's. "_We're_ going _together_!"

"AHA! I KNEW IT!" Sora points an accusing finger at Kairi. "YOU LIKE GIRLS!"

Kairi automatically stabs his hand with her spoon, making him yelp. Naminé and Roxas sweat-drop silently at them.

"Then who's going with me?" Sora whines while rubbing his hand.

Kairi looks at Roxas beside him and an evil, mischievous smile stretches on her face.

"Don't. Even. Say it," Roxas glares at her darkly.

"You can take Roxas!" Kairi exclaims loudly, giggling. "The Yaoi fangirls will be _ecstatic_."

Naminé snickers, secretly enjoying it as much as Kairi.

Sora looks at Roxas quietly, making the blonde guy's widen in horror, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks. "What the… you're not gonna ask me to go with you are you?"

"We're staying in the same house. We'd go there together anyway," Sora shrugs casually.

"Hell no, I'm not going," Roxas retorts in horror, edging away from Sora. "I'm weirded out just by sitting next to you now, and it's all those stupid yaoi fangirls' fault!"

"You _are_ coming!" Kairi snaps. "I already have a costume for you too! It was supposed to be for Sora, a pirate costume to match Selphie's mermaid one, but I just made him a new costume, so you will have that one instead!"

"I'm not going!" Roxas exclaims more loudly while standing up abruptly, irritated. "Especially not as Sora's… d-d-_date_!"

"He's not your date; you're going together as cousins and as friends!" Kairi retorts just as loudly, standing up too.

"That's not what the Yaoi fangirls will think! They won't let me hear the end of it!"

"Who cares what they think! You're coming to the party, or I swear I will cling to you until you do!"

They glare into each other's eyes intensely. For the first time, there's someone who can actually stand a chance under Roxas' powerful death glare. He sits back down silently, pouting. Kairi takes his silence as an OK and grins triumphantly at him.

Naminé and Sora eye Kairi with awe and respect.

Suddenly, Kairi swiftly glares back at the blonde girl. "You too Nam, the same thing goes for you! You come or I will go to your house and cling to you until you do!"

Naminé chuckles quietly.

Kairi narrows her eyes at her quietly. "I mean it. It won't be the same without you there having fun with us."

"I-I will…" Naminé sighs defeatedly, smiling.

"You'll come? Yay!" Kairi claps her hands together happily. "We are going to have SO much fun!..." And then she proceeds to tell her excitedly of her plans to come earlier to Naminé's house so they can apply makeup to each other and do their hairstyles and stuff. Naminé is listening to her intently, smiling.

Roxas and Sora watch them tiredly the entire time, clearly bored and disinterested in their girl talk.

_Later around sunset, outside Starbucks, the sidewalk_

"Hey Sora! Can you go ahead and walk Naminé to her house by yourself? I need to hurry home. There's stuff I have to do!"

Sora stops and blinks at Kairi suspiciously. "What stuff?"

"Stuff! Girl stuff! Ergo, none of your business!" She retorts, smirking at him mischievously, and then she quickly – and roughly – elbows Roxas to say something too.

He glares at her in annoyance before looking back at Sora and saying tiredly, "Uh, me too. I have to hurry home. I, um, have a lot of…school work I need to finish for tomorrow. Since I'm new, I have to catch up and all..."

"Buh-bye!" Kairi suddenly exclaims cheerfully, taking Roxas' arm and dragging him away with her.

Suddenly, Sora and Naminé are alone in front of Starbucks.

_Silence._

"…" Sora stands there quietly for a minute. Naminé stares sideways at him questioningly.

"Huh? Did they just leave us alone on purpose?" His blue eyes widen with innocent confusion.

Naminé rolls her eyes, walking ahead toward the direction of her house. "Took you that long to figure that out?…Not even the word 'fool' serves you justice anymore."

Sora quickly follows her and walks by her side. "_Now_ you show your true self, huh huuuh?" He leans his face closer to check hers'.

She quickly looks the other way, hiding her face from him and her blush.

"I like the real Naminé way better!" Sora grins ahead of them happily and carefree. This makes a new deeper shade of blush explode on the blonde's face, which Sora doesn't notice at all.

"I-I don't care if you like me or not," she retorts quietly, trying to sound indifferent.

"Say Naminé," he randomly decides to change the subject, looking at her eagerly. "Wh-what if… someone like Riku, Roxas, Axel or _me_… asked you out, what would you say?"

"I would say no," is Naminé's blunt reply.

He frowns instantly, unable to hide his disappointment.

"Going out with one of the most popular guys in school is really troublesome," Naminé mutters quietly while staring absently ahead of them. "The fangirls will definitely make my life hell. I'm only friends with you guys and they already hate me to bits…"

"Troublesome…?" Sora mumbles quietly under his breath, his head hanging low dejectedly.

"…Moreover, I don't want to be in a relationship right now. All I want to do is concentrate on my studies, graduate in peace and get into a good university. That's it."

"I see…" He forces out a smile. "And which university do you plan to get into? Have you decided that yet?"

She nods. "Twilight Uni."

"Woow!" Sora blinks at her in awe; his blue eyes wide open innocently. "It's gonna be tough, but I'm sure if it's you, it'll be a piece of cake, you're really smart!"

"I'm not really that smart…" She giggles softly. "Um…what about you? Where are you planning to go after high school?"

"Me?" He chuckles weakly, throwing a hand behind his head. "Let's hope I can _graduate_ first…"

"That's true…" she chuckles a long softly. "You're always either dozing off or spacing out during our classes. How do you expect to get good grades this way? Can you try to be a little more serious?"

Sora frowns to himself, suddenly remembering his father's words earlier this morning:

_"Proud of what? His idiocy? His irresponsibility? His inability to take his future seriously? …Your son needs to grow up. We're not going to babysit him forever; he should understand that by now."_

"Sora? What's wrong?" Naminé asks worriedly all of a sudden, bringing him back to reality. "I've noticed you acting weird since this morning… What's the problem?"

Sora blushes, shaking his head and laughing nervously. "N-Nothing! I'm just spacing out like usual!"

"SHE'S FLIRTING WITH HIM!" A female voice exclaims dramatically behind them all of a sudden.

Sora and Naminé turn around just in time as the other fangirls drag the fangirl who's yelled back into the bushes to hide.

"Your fangirls are following us…" Naminé mutters while turning back to look ahead of them.

Sora sweat-drops. "Ignore them…"

They walk silently and awkwardly to Naminé's house, aware of the fangirls stalking them the whole time.

_In front of Naminé's house_

"Are you going to be okay? They're still stalking you…" Naminé sweat-drops as she notices them watching her and Sora from the opposite side of the street. "Tifa told you not to run until your ankle is better too."

He grins at her from ear to ear like a giddy puppy. "Worried about me?"

"N-No!" Naminé hastily replies, suddenly nervous.

Sora's expression falls.

"Why would I be?"

_Silence._

"Hey Naminé…?" Sora says softly, making Naminé feel even more nervous at the sudden change of his tone.

"Wh-What is it?"

"Why do you think I kissed you in this same spot back then?" He asks bluntly, startling the blonde.

"Why…" She gulps nervously while staring at the ground. "B-Because…"

He looks at her expectantly.

"Because you're a guy!" She blurts out while looking up at him suddenly.

"Because I'm a guy…?" He stares at her confusedly.

"I-I have to go! M-My dad is probably worried about me! See you tomorrow!" She turns around quickly and hurries into her house, leaving a confused and slightly frustrated Sora behind.

"She is so hard to understand sometimes…" He mumbles to himself with a sigh, his shoulders slumped. "Or maybe it's because I'm inexperienced with girls?" He sighs and heads home.

_Meanwhile, with the fangirls stalking Sora and Naminé across the street…_

"Yes!" One of them exclaims excitedly. "From what I gather, it didn't go well with them! We're safe for today, let's go home and report to the club tomorrow!"

"Can we follow Sora longer? He looks so dreamy…" Another sighs swooningly while staring at Sora walking away on the opposite sidewalk.

"No, unfortunately, we can't! We have a life too y'know! It's late, our parents must be worried about us, let's go home!" They drag the member of their species away with them toward the opposite direction.

_Later at night, Sora's house_

Sora is lying silently on his bed and staring up at the ceiling, deeply engrossed with his thoughts, when his father pushes the door open slightly and peeks his head into his son's dark room. "You up?"

Sora quickly sits upright on his bed. "Yeah, I'm up."

Squall walks in and sits next to Sora on his bed, who stares at him questioningly.

"Ahem…" Squall looks up at his son awkwardly. "Son, I…"

Sora blinks at him innocently, the confusion clear in his eyes. "What's wrong dad? You're acting weird…" He pales suddenly. "Grandma is okay right?"

"She is fine," his father sweat-drops. "I just want—"

"Oh my God, it's not Grandpa is it?"

Squall resists the urge to smack his son on the head and lets out a sigh instead. "Your grandfather is fine too. Everyone is fine."

"Then don't scare me like that! Sheesh!"

"You didn't even give me a chance to talk…"

"Did I do something? Because I don't remember—"

"Sora!" Squall snaps suddenly, finally capturing his son's attention. His voice becomes soft as he continues, "I just wanted to say… no matter what, you are my son, and I'm damn proud of you."

Sora's eyes widen in shock when his dad abruptly grabs his head and pushes it onto his chest. Rinoa, Sora's mom, who's passing by, quickly hides behind Sora's door and takes a peek at them, smiling softly at the scene.

"I am," Squall says a bit softer, smiling a little at Sora's bush of hair tickling his face. "But because I am your father, I always want the best for you. It's alright if you won't play in the game tomorrow, it means nothing to me. I just want you to be more careful with yourself…"

Sora is too shocked to speak. Abruptly, Squall pushes Sora head roughly away until he falls backwards onto the bed.

"Hey!" Sora pouts at him, sitting back up.

"Rinoa! I saw you!" Squall glares at the door.

His wife sheepishly steps into the room, smiling weakly. "Heehee! Did I ruin a moment?"

"No such thing. I was just scolding him for… not flushing the toilet."

Sora chuckles amusedly at his dad. "So are you and mom still coming to watch the game tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Squall replies. "Your friend Riku is going to play isn't he?"

"And even if you aren't playing with them, it's still your team," Rinoa adds with a smile. "We should be there to cheer for it! It's the last game tomorrow isn't it?"

"Yeah," Sora grins, and then suddenly looks down at his lap with a hand behind his head. He pauses hesitantly before adding, "Uh and one more thing… I know that I've been lousy at school so far, but I've made a decision… and don't laugh at me!"

His parents blink at him with genuine curiosity at the same time.

"Uhh…After high school, I… want to get into Twilight University."

_Silence._

Sora looks up to find them both suppressing a grin.

"Hey!" He pouts at them adorably. "You promised not to laugh!"

"Sorry, honey," Rinoa smiles guiltily. "But that was sudden… what made you decide that?"

"What made you think you can actually accomplish that?" Squall adds in a mutter, earning a glare from his wife.

"Nothing is impossible," Sora shrugs casually. "If I work hard and really put my mind into it, I think I can do it!" He grins cheerfully.

Rinoa and Squall smile warmly at him.

"Whatever, son," Squall shrugs, getting up to leave Sora's room. "Try not to hurt your brain over it. I don't think it can take that much."

"Squall!" His wife scolds him automatically.

"It's Leon," he retorts wearily from the hallway.

As soon as her husband is out of earshot, Rinoa turns to Sora with a mischievous smile. "It's Naminé isn't it?"

Sora gawps at her, wide-eyed.

"You are so predictable sweetie!" She chuckles out loud. "I can read you like an open book!" She smiles mischievously again all of a sudden. "And this Naminé… she has a good influence on you, I'm glad. I can't wait to finally meet her… Is she coming to see the game tomorrow?"

"Probably… Kairi'll drag her along, I'm sure," he chuckles softly, scratching his head.

"Wonderful, I cannot wait!" As she's about to leave, she turns halfway to add before closing the door behind her, "Good night sweetie!"

"Good night."

_Next day, afternoon, just before the game at Twilight High's Nurse Office…_

"Your ankle's almost completely healed. Turns out your injury weren't that bad after all… that's a relief," Tifa smiles delightedly, sitting back on her chair.

"But I still can't play today, can I?" Sora sighs as he puts down his leg on the floor.

She shakes her head at him with a sympathetic expression. "No, it's not good to put pressure on your ankle while it's in the process of healing."

"Too bad… I really wanted to play today."

She giggles while saying slyly, "You were hoping to impress certain people?"

"Yeah, actually… my parents are coming to watch the game."

"Oh, they're coming? That's nice…" She smiles. "Say hi to Rinoa for me. I have a lot of work to finish here; I don't think I'll be able to leave the office."

"Wait… you know my mom?" He gapes at her comically.

She giggles again softly at his expression. "Yes, she was a friend from my high school days. I was surprised when I found out that she is your mom while looking through your file. But I guess it wasn't that surprising… Now I know where your sweetness came from…" She winks.

He chuckles softly, blushing and looking downwards sheepishly while scratching his head.

"Just like you, your mom's friendliness affected everyone around her. Especially your father," she looks away, smiling while recalling her memories. "I remember Squall… he was in our class too. Hard to approach, distant, cold… everything your mom isn't. And almost exactly like the one I have at home."

"How did they fell in love then?" Sora questions curiously. "When I ask dad, he doesn't tell me, and when I ask my mom, she just says 'it was fate'…"

"I don't know the details but I remember when one day your parents were assigned the positions class president and vice president," she giggles suddenly. "Squall didn't want to, but his fangirls voted for him anyway and so he had to do it."

Sora sweat-drops. "Dad had fangirls too? Then he should sympathize with me more…"

She smiles. "He and Rinoa had to work together, but I remember Squall giving your mom a hard time. He wouldn't cooperate. But Rinoa never gave up… she kept following him and asking for his help... and little by little… your father started opening up a bit. Then suddenly, one day, they started going out. I remember everyone, including me, was very surprised. They were so different, yet they got along so well."

Sora smiles softly, imagining Tifa's memory in his head.

"You may look like your dad, but in terms of personality, you definitely take after your mother. You inherited her trait of being able to influence the people around you. Like how you helped Riku." She smiles when she adds, "And how you'll help Naminé… I hope."

Sora lets out a heavy sigh all of a sudden.

Tifa smiles sympathetically at his reaction. "She's improving slowly… hang in there!"

"It's not troublesome or anything… I'm happy to help," he looks at the older woman firmly. "I _want_ to help her... I just don't know what to do to make her comfortable with us. She still looks like she's not being her true self around other people…"

"Chronic depression takes time to cure…" Tifa sighs.

"How do you treat that?" He asks quickly.

Tifa smiles warmly. "You are already curing her. Just make sure you and your friends keep her close and share your fun with her. I'm sure; some day… she'll be her old self again."

_Silence._

"How did Naminé deal with her mom's death? It must have been hard. I can't imagine…I've never lost someone close to me so I don't know what it feels like."

Tifa looks down somberly and sighs. "She shut herself off from everyone…" she says quietly. "She stopped talking to us. No matter how hard I, her friends and Roka tried… it was no use. It felt like we didn't only lose Aerith, but we lost Naminé and Cloud too…" She pauses briefly before continuing, a sad smile on her face, "Aerith was everything to Naminé. Naturally, because she is her mother… and because she was also her best friend. If she wasn't in school, she was always with her mother. She rarely went out to hang out with friends, or go out with boys… all her time she's spent helping her mom."

"Oh…" Sora mutters, frowning sadly at the floor. "That's so sad…"

"So let's work hard to help them! Naminé and Cloud," Tifa winks suddenly, smiling cheerfully at Sora.

"Yeah," Sora grins back, nodding. _"You're doing a better job than me though... You're already going out with him…" _He adds mentally, inwardly sighing.

_Meanwhile, in the Gym's court room…_

People are filling up the audience stands as the game is about to start shortly. The fangirls are taking the front seats, dressed up as cheerleaders. They cheer their school's team loudly, trying to drown out their enemies' cheerleaders' noise.

As soon as Sora's parents show up, taking the vacant seats in the last row, the fangirls forget about cheering and squeal loudly:

"OH MY GOD! IT'S SORA PARENTS! OVER THERE!"

"KYAAAAAAAH! FINALLY! WE HAVEN'T SEEN THEM FOR SO LONG!"

"I want to make a good impression! How do I look?"

"I dyed my hair black today just in case Sora's mom comes! Tee-hee!"

"COME ON GIRLS, WE SHOULD GO SAY HI!"

Squall groans instantly when he notices the gush of fangirls pushing their way toward them.

"Here we go… shit…" He mutters quietly under his breath, causing his wife snicker beside him.

"MR. LEONHART! HIII!"

"You look so handsome!"

"Mrs. Leonhart, you're as beautiful as ever!"

"Do you need anything? Are you thirsty? Want some snacks?"

Squall leans toward his wife and whispers, "This is why I don't come to Parent-Teacher conferences."

Rinoa sweat-drops, chuckling weakly when all of a sudden a fangirl takes her hands abruptly in hers. "MRS. LEONHART! THANK YOU FOR GIVING BIRTH TO SORA!"

Rinoa sweat-drops again, smiling politely. "You're welcome…"

Then she turns to Squall and whispers back, "They always remind me of your fangirls back then… remember honey?"

He frowns instantly at the memories, making his wife giggle beside him.

Later, after the fangirls have left back to their cheerleading duties, Kairi, Roxas and Naminé appear. They take the seats next to Sora's parents.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Leonhart!" Kairi waves at them cheerfully, sitting next to Sora's mom.

"Good to see you Kairi," Rinoa smiles back delightedly, and then her eyes travel to the quiet blonde girl sitting last beside Roxas. "Is that Naminé?" She says a bit loudly over the noise.

Squall turns his head to look curiously at the girl his wife is pointing at.

"Yup! She's the one!" Kairi winks playfully, giggling.

"What a cute girl!" Rinoa beams and then turns to her husband excitedly. "Honey, that's Naminé!"

Squall is watching the quiet blonde silently.

Meanwhile, Naminé is pretending not to notice them, staring at the match while fidgeting with her dress instead. _"I'm so nervous… they're still staring at me! Wh-What should I do? I-It's all Kairi's fault… I shouldn't have let her drag me into this! I don't want to be here!"_

Roxas looks at her sympathetically beside her, noticing her nervousness by the way she's playing with her dress. "It's alright. Sora's parents are really nice people," he tells her, thinking that'll ease her up.

She gulps nervously, clutching her dress tightly while replying in her head, _"I know that… I know. But I still feel this way…I can't help it…" _She hangs her head lower in vain.

Kairi giggles nervously, waving a dismissive hand in front of her. "She is super shy!"

Rinoa smiles understandingly. "I see. It is not a problem."

"She is very different from our Sora," Squall remarks quietly to his wife while sitting back and watching the game.

"So what? It worked for us didn't it?" Rinoa whispers back, winking briefly.

"Well… she is quieter than the fangirls. I'll take her over them any day," he mutters, making his wife laugh.

Meanwhile, Demyx and Selphie look to their left to find Rikku taking the seat next to Demyx.

"Hey guys!" She grins at them cheerfully.

"Rikku!" Demyx beams, grinning back. "Hey! How are ya?"

Selphie frowns jealousy at her boyfriend's reaction, but she manages a quiet unheartfelt, "Hey."

"I'm good, thanks Demmy," Rikku smiles friendly at him.

"Why aren't you with Paine and Yuna?" Selphie asks quietly.

"Oh Paine is out in a date, and Yuna is busy preparing for the school's party tomorrow. She's in charge y'know," she shrugs, sticking out a playful tongue. "Soo yeah… I've got no one else. Unless I'm bothering you…." She trails off worriedly.

"O-Oh no!" Selphie says quickly, making Demyx sweat-drop between the girls. "You aren't, you should stay with us!" She smiles forcefully.

"Thanks," Rikku replies, sweat-dropping as well, sensing Selphie's jealousy and thinking she's just being possessive over her boyfriend.

"So who's Paine going out with?" Selphie asks excitedly all of a sudden, her girly side winning over her jealousy.

"Larxene."

_Silence._

Demyx and Selphie gawk at her stupidly.

"Come again?" Selphie blinks, wide-eyed.

"Oh you didn't know? Paine is bi. She likes guys and girls," Rikku giggles at their expressions.

"O-Oh… wow!" Selphie chuckles weakly. "That's nice!"

"That makes sense…" Demyx says, nodding. "For a second, I thought she was a lesbian and got confused. 'Cause I remember she had a fling with Axel once a long time ago…"

_Awkward silence._

"I-I remember… Paine told me… i-it was a long time ago…" Rikku forces out a chuckle. Demyx curses himself mentally for mentioning Axel's fling and stares sympathetically at the blonde girl.

"Axel is such a whore!" Selphie exclaims suddenly, pouting. "Girl, he's bad for you. Forget about him. Be glad you're not on his list of girls-I-fucked. Because half the school's girls are!"

Rikku hangs her head low miserably, helplessly.

Demyx notices this and turns to face his girlfriend scoldingly. "Selphie, I don't like you when you badmouth Axel like that. He's my best buddy and I've known him all my life… and he may be a whore, but he's a good person. A really good person!"

Rikku looks up wide-eyed at Demyx in awe. "Demmy…"

"Don't listen to what anyone says Rikku," Demyx tells her softly. "You haven't fallen in love with the wrong guy. Axel is incredible!" He grins at her reassuringly.

She nods at him confidently, smiling with genuine gratefulness. "Thank you Demmy. You're the only person who supports me… thank you so much…"

Selphie's frown deepens as she watches the two smiling at each other. _"It's like I'm not even here…" _She sulks to herself.

Suddenly, the referee blows the whistle, signally the beginning of the game.

"Oh look! It's started!" Rikku exclaims excitedly, pointing at the game.

_Meanwhile with Yuffie, at the front row with the fangirls…_

Whereas the fangirls are cheering for Riku and his team, Yuffie is busy 'uncheering' Riku in particular beside them. The audience around her sweat-drop at her while Solana and the rest of Riku's fangirls simply glare at her with annoyance.

"PRICK YOU SUCK! BOOOO!" She yells when Riku makes their first score.

Even though her yell has been drowned out by the fangirls' and the audience's around her loud cheering, Riku still picks it up. He looks up at her briefly, shaking his head and suppressing an amused smirk.

"Go Riku!" Sora cheers his friend from the bench, grinning excitedly.

For the rest of the first half of the game, Riku's team is in the advantage, with a score of 30 to 15.

Suddenly, Riku starts acting weird. He loses his focus, and his performance deteriorates greatly. The audience starts murmuring among themselves, confused over the sudden change in him.

"What's wrong with Riku?" Solana mutters, confused. She and the rest of the fangirls stop cheering, exchanging confused looks with each other.

"…" Yuffie is watching Riku fail constantly in bemusement.

"What the heck is wrong with Riku? He better pull it together, the other team's catching up!" Kairi exclaims angrily, shaking an agitated fist in the air.

Roxas sweat-drops next to the red-head. "You're too fired up about this…"

"He appears to be distracted with something…" Squall murmurs. "Look at him scan the audience again. It's not the first time."

"Is he looking for someone?" Rinoa frowns suddenly, searching around them. "I don't think Riku's mom is here… how sad. Can't she at least come for the final game? Poor Riku…"

"Riku… come on man…" Sora mutters under his breath anxiously. "It's not like you!"

Suddenly the other team scores, making the score: 33 to 36. Riku's team is losing.

"We're losing! No!" Selphie pouts. "It's not like Riku to make so many mistakes! He's not himself! What's happening?"

"RIKU! WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU? FOCUS!" The coach yells frustratedly at the silver-head from the sidelines.

The fangirls sit back on their seats disappointedly:

"Riku is being so uncool… our school will lose because of him!"

"So true! Hmph!"

"Shut up!" Solana snaps at her species abruptly, being the only still cheering on Riku. "Riku is distracted because of his mom!"

Yuffie, who has been eavesdropping quietly, just as confused over this as the others, gapes at the game when she hears this, her eyes widening in realization.

"…She didn't come for Riku's final game and he's obviously crushed over it! You call yourselves Riku's fangirls? You should cheer for him, especially now, when he needs you the most!" Solana scolds them. They look down at their laps shamefully.

"PRIIIIIIIIIIIICK!" A voice suddenly shakes the courtroom. Everyone stops and turns their head to look at the source. Yuffie. She grips on the railing tightly. "YOU ARE SO USELESS! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? EVERYONE IS CHEERING FOR YOU, ALL YOUR FRIENDS ARE HERE FOR YOU, AND YOU DARE LET THEM DOWN? YOU'RE PISSING ME OFF! YOU SUCK!"

"…" Riku is blinking up at Yuffie in shock. Then he closes his eyes and smiles softly to himself. "Typical Yuffie…" He chuckles quietly to himself. And then when he opens his eyes again, they're filled with determination.

Suddenly, Riku is back to owning the game. In no time, he surpasses the other team easily. Everyone is cheering wildly again.

"PRICK! YOU'RE SUCH A COCKY ASS! DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DO EVERYTHING BY YOURSELF? PASS THE FREAKIN' BALL TO SOMEONE ELSE! I AM SICK OF WATCHING YOU PLAY!" Yuffie shouts all of a sudden during the game.

Riku suddenly realizes that in order to penetrate the enemies' defense so his team can score in their basket, he should pass the ball to Tidus on his right, where the defense is weaker. And so he does, and Tidus succeeds to score.

"Yuffie…" Solana mumbles to herself in awe while watching Yuffie 'un-cheering' her prick. "You really do love him…" She smiles bitterly, admitting defeat to herself.

_Final score: 70 to 66_

Riku's team wins. Everyone goes wild with celebrating. The fangirls and many people from the enthusiastic audience rush down to the court to congratulate Riku and the rest of the team.

Sora and Tidus hug Riku's shoulders, almost jumping from excitement. Wakka ruffles Riku's head in acknowledgement. The rest of the team members come and pat his shoulder.

Suddenly, Kairi rushes down as well, dragging Roxas and Naminé with her, and hugs Riku and Sora friendly, jumping excitedly. Tidus opens his arms so she can hug him next, but she purposely skips him and hugs Wakka instead, making everyone laugh. Naminé giggles softly.

"I'M SO EXCITED! OUR SCHOOL WON! HELL YEAH!" Hayner exclaims excitedly, him and Pence are standing next to Naminé.

"Yeah! At least our basketball team won… Too bad our track team didn't…" Pence shrugs casually while eating from his tacos in peace.

A pissed-off Hayner – member of said track team – snatches Pence's tacos from him and munches at them angrily.

"Hey!" Pence pouts, trying to get his tacos back from Hayner.

Naminé, being the only one paying attention to them, smiles softly. She looks around her, smiling. "Everyone is so happy… it makes me feel giddy too…" She grins.

Suddenly, Riku pushes away his excited fans gently and makes his way toward Yuffie, who's been celebrating her school team's win by herself a bit away from the crowd. Everyone stops and watches them, smiling. It seems the only one who hasn't noticed the sudden silence yet is Yuffie.

"You're such a hypocrite," Riku chuckles softly as he's making his way toward her.

Yuffie stops and turns swiftly to glare at him, frowning. She freezes however when she notices that he's not respecting her personal space and still coming at her. "Hey!" She stretches her hands in front of her defensively and starts retreating backwards. "Stay back! Prick, what the hell?"

But he doesn't stop coming at her, his smirk stretching devilishly.

She turns swiftly when she notices the devilish look in his eyes, attempting to run. Riku catches her by the back of her collar though and pulls her back, causing her to make a choking sound, and then he turns her around and throws his arms around her, hugging her hard.

She almost yelps out loud at how intimately close his body is to hers.

"R-Ri… Prick! What the fuck are you doing?" She hisses, all stiff and uneasy.

He leans his face closer to her ear and whispers in his seductive tone, "I'm not good for you; you should have stayed away from me. But you didn't, and now it's too late…." He pauses, teasing her. Yuffie feels like she's having difficulty to breath, but she stubbornly acts like none of his actions are affecting her, turning her head slightly to glare hatefully at his aquamarine eyes. When they make eye-contact, Riku continues softly, the devilish look in his eyes making Yuffie feel nervous again, "I'm going to get you, Yuffie Kisaragi."


	27. Halloween Party P1

Chapter 27:

_After the game _

Sora is seeing his parents off near the school entrance.

"That was a good game. Are you sure you don't want to go home with us?" His father asks.

"No, it's okay… my friends and I are going out later to celebrate our team winning."

"I get it," Squall nods quickly, eager to leave. "Have fun then. And go easy on your ankle."

"Is Roxas going with you?" Sora's mom asks him, oblivious to her husband's hurriedness to get out of here.

"Yeah, probably," Sora grins. "Kairi's dragging him along."

Rinoa giggles lightly. "Be sure to take Naminé with you too," she winks.

"Kairi wouldn't let anyone off easy, don't worry mom," Sora chuckles.

"She's gorgeous," his mom says softly, tenderly smiling at him.

"Yeah, well, Kairi is Kairi," he shrugs, chuckling lightly.

"Oh no," She giggles, waving a dismissive hand. "She is gorgeous too of course, but I was talking about Naminé."

"O-Oh…" He bows his head down embarrassedly, blushing. "Y-You've met her?"

"Yes," His mother beams, nodding. "She looks like a really nice girl. Your father and I like her, right honey?" She turns to her husband, smiling.

"Come on woman; let's get out of here already," Squall tells his wife with impatience, scanning around them apprehensively.

Rinoa sighs exasperatedly while turning to her husband, her hands on her hips. "What is eating you Squall?"

"It's Leon," he retorts in a deadpan, swiftly turning his head to glare at her. "And the reason why I am in such a hurry, woman," he tells her slowly for her to understand, "Is that I don't want to risk his blasted fangirls catching up to us, it's a damn near miracle we escaped them earlier!"

_Silence_. Then, she bursts out laughing. Next to her, Sora is looking as grim as his father though, and that only makes her laugh harder. "Oh come dear," she finally says after she regains control and her laughter subsides. "They aren't _that_ bad!"

Her husband and son give her an even grimmer look.

"Woman. You were my classmate; you've seen what they were like back in the day. Hell, you were like my shadow, an inescapable nuisance. You witnessed what they're capable of firsthand."

Rinoa shoots him a deadly look, her hands on her hips. She is clearly angry when he called her a nuisance. "Excuse me?"

Sora chuckles nervously at them in the background. "U-Uhm… shouldn't you be leaving already?"

"I bet they've evolved over the years too…" His father muses out loud while crossing his arms thoughtfully.

His wife can't help it and laughs again, shaking her head. "You're exaggerating dear. They are simply just a bunch of harmless teenage girls who are innocently infatuated by our son…" She smiles at Sora softly, ruffling his hair fondly and giggling when the brunette pouts at her for it. "Who could blame them?"

_Meanwhile, at Sora's fangirls' hideout, an abandoned classroom…_

Four chairs are lined up next to each other with Riku, Roxas, Demyx and Axel each tied with a rope to them in the middle of the completely dark room.

"I was kidnapped three times and forced to do 'errands' for them, like bringing them some of Sora's personal belongings and stuff…" Demyx, tied to the last seat on the right, tells his companions casually, attempting to converse to entertain their boredom.

They've been stuck here for the past forty minutes, alone in the empty, pitch black classroom. Sora's fangirls have ambushed each one of them in different locations and kidnapped them here some time after the game ended.

"Only once…" Riku, on the opposite end, admits, referring to the time he'd been kidnapped by Sora's fangirls. "And I wouldn't say it was kidnapping exactly. They wanted to know who Sora likes. Pretty pointless and a waste of time, not even worth mentioning…"

"I think they do it for sport," Roxas remarks, turning his head to the silver-head on his right. "The kidnapping stuff."

"You too Rox?" Axel blinks at the blonde with surprise. The red-head hasn't even been in school. They have kidnapped him off school campus while he's just about to leave his apartment. "You were kidnapped?"

"Yeah… Recently too…" Roxas sweat-drops at the memory. "They wanted to use me to ruin stuff between Sora and Naminé."

"Selfish bitches!" Riku spits out angrily.

"How boring," Axel sighs disappointedly. "I thought they were after world domination or something. Guess they're not the main villains for this story…"

The guys tense, glaring at him like he's just said something taboo.

"The story of our life y'know?" The red-head smirks devilishly at them.

They relax.

"I think the chakrams are the ones after world domination," Demyx says with conviction.

"No, they're just after cleansing the world of all faggots," Axel tells him calmly. "We've discussed this already. Theory proven."

"No, no…" Demyx shakes his head, not convinced. "They want to take over the world, trust me."

"I think it's just Axel's Grandma taking revenge on you guys for being assholes," Roxas says, sweat-dropping.

Meanwhile, Riku looks to the other side while thinking, _'What the… Am I the only sane person here?'_

"So all of you got a taste of a kidnapping experience before except me?" Axel smirks excitedly. "This is my first time, I'm thrilled!"

"I told you already Ax…" Demyx sighs at his childhood friend. "I-It's actually not a very pleasant experience…"

Axel ignores him, beaming enthusiastically around them, "So what happens now? Do they rape us?"

Riku and Roxas turn swiftly to stare at Axel in utter horror while Demyx answers in an uncharacteristically sophisticated and calm manner, "No, out of personal experience, I say they will most likely flash a light over our heads and then ask us some questions about Sora."

"Then they rape us?"

"Then they give us instructions for their plan... Whatever it is..."

"Then they rape us?"

Roxas sweat-drops at the perverted red-head. "I think it's Sora they want to rape..."

Axel huffs. "Lucky bastard! What's wrong with us? We're the ultimate package deal!" He glares at Riku before deadpanning, "Except you fag."

"Someone's bitter that Yuffie dumped his loser ass," Riku smirks mockingly.

"A, she didn't dumb me," Axel replies with barely controlled temper. "B, I aint bitter. I just naturally hate you, got it memorized? Your existence simply sickens me. That is all. And C, at least I'm not a stalker. Stalking people's dates…"

Riku stiffens at the reminder, cursing under his breath while looking away to his side in shame, an embarrassed blush on his cheeks. _'They __**still**__ remember that…'_

Right then, Isabella and the rest of her species appear out of nowhere, flashing a light over the four boys.

They growl simultaneously, shutting their eyes off from the blinding light.

"See! I told you about the lights!" Demyx cries, struggling to open his eyes.

"Hey babe," Axel casually turns to the nearest Sora fangirl, flashing his best seductive smirk as he whispers to her, "I'll give ya my number if you let us out!"

Roxas sweat-drops next to him, "Bribing them with your number is not going to work…"

"Damn right!" Isabella scoffs, crossing her arms. "We are _Sora's_ fangirls! Our loyalty stands with Sora!"

"What the hell do you want now?" Riku snarls.

"Yes, that's right, let's get straight to the point…" Isabella starts pacing the space in front of them, getting straight into business. "We brought you here for a reason, of course…"

"What?" Riku prompts snappishly, irritated. He is sore and tired after the match and he's late for his friends. He's supposed to meet them outside by now for their arrangement to go out after the game.

"It's not so hard to figure out… Must be about Sora and Naminé. They want us to help them ruin things between those two," Roxas sweat-drops again, a dull look on his face. "And I've only been here a couple of weeks…"

"You are sharp as always blondie," Isabella smirks. "Yes, that's right…" Her features turn grim. "That slut is bewitching our Sora! She's using you guys to get popular! We've got to do something!"

"Go to hell," Riku narrows her eyes at her hatefully. "As if I'm going to believe _you_, freaks."

Her left eye twitches in irritation, but she continues, undeterred, "We know that Naminé is coming with you guys to the Halloween party! We also know of your _scheme_…" She spits out the last word in disgust. "You're tricking Sora to think that he's going to the party with Roxas, when really, what you're scheming to do tomorrow is to have Sora switch dates with _Kairi_, who's going with _Naminé_—"

"You lost me…" Demyx blinks at her dumbly.

"Shut up, retarded loser!" A random fangirl hisses. "Don't interrupt our leader when she is speaking!"

Roxas perks up all of a sudden. "Wait a minute… _what_? I don't know about this! Is that what Kairi's planning? I'm going to be stuck as her date?" He turns to Riku swiftly, who's hiding away his face, silently confirming the blonde's questions. "I knew it!" Roxas exclaims before looking down at his lap and muttering grudgingly under his breath, "Conniving demon witch…"

"Women," Axel addresses Isabella and her species suddenly, all calm and secretly enjoying the show, and the madness. "Kairi's the one you should be bringing here. Not us. _She's_ the mastermind. _She's_ the true pro-Sora x Naminé, your natural enemy."

Roxas snorts. "They're too scared to touch her. No wonder Sora hides behind that witch all the time. He's not as stupid as he looks…"

"Guys…. I need to go to the bathroom," Demyx blurts out randomly all of a sudden.

Isabella's eye twitches irritatedly.

Axel glares at him in annoyance. "The time you pick to…. Ugh…" He shakes his head.

"ENOUGH!" She snaps impatiently, throwing her fists in the air angrily. "Take our side or else!"

"NO YOU STUPID CRAZY BITCH!" Riku loses his temper, struggling to pull himself out of the ropes. "FUCKING UNTIE ME ALREADY, THIS IS RIDICULOUS!"

She snorts, her eyes darkening menacingly. "Fine. Then we will have to torture you into submission now won't we?" With a wicked smirk, she whirls around and motions for her girls to follow her to the next adjoined room.

The guys stare at them wide-eyed in a mixture of horror and curiosity as they disappear into the next room, snickering evilly as they shut the door behind them.

"Hey guys… how do you think they will torture us?" Roxas asks worriedly once they're gone.

"I vote rape," Axel replies coolly with a perverted smirk.

"Shut up about this already, don't give them ideas!" Roxas hisses at him quietly.

"This is beyond ridiculous! I can't believe I got caught up into this…" Riku shakes his head, sighing heavily. "Stupid Sora and his crazy fangirls…"

"They are evil…" Zexion murmurs eerily, tied to a chair behind Axel.

The red-head looks back to gape at him in bewilderment – being the only one who's heard him for some reason – wondering how the hell he's ended up with them when suddenly, the door in front of them opens again, and Isabella comes back with her people, wheeling in a film projector with them.

The boys watch carefully as Isabella taps at the projector in front of them, smirking sadistically. "You have one last chance to surrender! I suggest you do it now before it's too late!"

The boys hesitate at first, but then stay silent and firm on their position, going all macho.

Isabella frowns darkly. "_Fine_. Don't say I didn't warn you…"

"I suggest we close our eyes in case it's something very horrid…" Riku mutters quietly to his friends.

"Riku's right!" Roxas says, nervously observing with his friends as Isabella is about to start the film, whatever it is. "B-But I'm too curious! My eyes aren't listening!"

"PORN! PORN! PORN!" Axel is chanting excitedly before turning his head and ordering a random fangirl next to him, "Hey, you! Get me some pop-corn!"

"I NEED TO PEE!"

"Oh God it's starting…" Roxas swallows, starting to panic.

It's on and it's…..

_**Teletubbies**_**. **

Riku and Roxas instantly relax, feeling silly.

"Oh it's just that kids' show…" Roxas sighs with relief. "We're safe."

"Fuck _ALL_ of you! Where is my porn!" Axel throws a fit, clearly disappointed.

"I need to pee— Oh my God! IT'S MY FAVORITE SHOW!"

All of them pause and turn to look at Demyx with a raised eyebrow.

Demyx then nervously adds, "W-When I was a kid!"

"Sure…" Axel rolls his eyes, looking away.

After that, they wait for the kids' show to end, yawning out of boredom every so often, except for Demyx, who is watching intently, and Axel, who is still sulking and complaining under his breath for being deprived of his porn.

When the episode seems to be almost over, Axel finally lets out a huge sigh of relief. "Finally! These fugly fat things almost made me want to commit suicide!"

"I'm already so freakin' late, Kairi will nag me about this for sure…" Riku mutters with a troubled sigh.

"Thank God…" Roxas sighs in relief as well.

"Hmph! It's not over yet _idiots_," Isabella, who is busy having a random fangirl apply nail polish to her fingernails at one of the tables in the background, glares at them irritatedly.

And then, suddenly, just when the boys are expecting it to be over, the Teletubbies start jumping excitedly, exclaiming, "AGAIN! AGAIN!"

"NOOO!" Roxas yells dramatically in despair while Demyx beams in excitement, "_YES_! THEY'RE PLAYING IT AGAIN!"

"Those fatasses!" Axel snarls, eyes burning. "FUCK THIS SHIT, JUST KILL ME NOW!"

"…" Riku is too dismayed for words, a crushed look on his face.

An evil smirk spread across Isabella's face, "Having fun? You know, this will all end if you guys just agree to—"

Axel swiftly turns his head to give her his deadliest glare. "Rot in hell bitch, rot in hell…" He mutters eerily.

Isabella's features become menacing. "Lana! Play the next episode!" She commands one of the fangirls.

The boys freeze, their expressions ashen, all of them simultaneously thinking in horror, _"There's __**more**__!" _

_3 hours later…_

"AGAIN! **AGAIN**!"

"DAMN YOUUUUUUUUU!" Axel explodes at the screen, having lost his temper.

Roxas is by far, the worst in condition. He's already 'KO'D', his body numb, staring at the screen like a lifeless zombie.

"If they say 'again' this time too, I will go ape-shit…" The red-head mutters eerily.

"No! We can't lose to them, hang on, we can make it!" Riku says, panting, trying to encourage his friends, even though he, himself, is struggling to stay in control, his eye twitching. "I'm sure this is the last—" He doesn't get to finish for the Teletubbies are once again exclaiming, "AGAIN! _**AGAIN**_!"

Without any warning, Axel burns the projector with his eye powers.

"I owe you one…" Riku lets out a sigh of relief.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Demyx wails in despair at the same time. "I WANTED TO SEE TIMMY DO THE CHICKEN DANCE AGAIN!"

Axel then burns their ropes as the fangirls continue staring, caught off-guard, at their burnt projector.

"Why the hell didn't you do it sooner?" Riku tells Axel in annoyance as he stands up, free at last.

"I was amused at first, I gotta admit," Axel smirks devilishly as he finishes burning Demyx's ropes. "Anyway, time to run!"

They escape, emerging from a secret door inside a classroom's cabinet

Minutes later after their escape, Axel and Riku are looking around the empty hallway for any sign of fangirls while hiding behind the wall with Roxas and Demyx.

Suddenly, zombie-like Roxas, who's been dragged along by Demyx the whole time, falls numbly to the ground while faintly singing the Teletubbies theme song, "Tinky winky…. Lala…" And then passing out.

"OH NO! WE LOST ROXAS!" Demyx exclaims dramatically to his friends while staring down at the fallen blonde.

"Shit!" Axel suddenly curses to himself after he remembers something. "We forgot Zexion back there!"

Demyx blinks confusedly at him. "Zexion? He wasn't with us…"

Riku is staring at him oddly too. "Are you alright?"

"I'm _fine_ faggot!" Axel snaps at Riku. "Must've been my imagination then…" He mutters to himself with a shrug.

All three of them then look simultaneously down at Roxas.

"Someone carry him," Riku tells them, nodding down at the blonde.

"Not me!" Axel quickly says, waving his hands and stepping back.

"Awww why does it always have to be me!" Demyx whines, pouting as he moves down to the pick up Roxas.

Suddenly, the floor and the lockers start rattling alarmingly. The guys freeze, listening in horror at the sound of approaching fangirls coming from the far end of the hallway.

"Shit!" Riku curses out loud as he swiftly turns and rushes off in the opposite direction, leaving Axel and Demyx standing by Roxas's unconscious body.

When the fangirls appear from behind the corner, Axel finally snaps out of his daze and quickly picks up Roxas bridal-style.

The Yaoi fangirls appear out of nowhere, squealing around Axel, "KYAAAH! AKUROKU!"

"Oh, please," Axel rolls his eyes wearily, dropping poor unconscious Roxas on the floor and running off by himself in the direction Riku has escaped from earlier.

"THERE THEY ARE!" Isabella, leading the mob of fangirls, points at the remaining guys.

Demyx's eyes open wide in horror as the fangirls lunge toward them, then he whirls around and starts running after Axel. He runs so fast that he actually outruns the red-head, running maniacally toward the same window he's crashed through some days ago, just repaired.

"YOU WON'T GET ME ALIIIVE!" He shouts dramatically.

Axel, while running, sees what his friend is up to and extends his hand after Demyx, shouting alarmingly, "DEMYX! NO! NOT THE WINDOW AGAIN!"

Demyx crashes through the window in slow-motion, flapping his arms as if he's going to fly somehow, and then dropping to his doom.

Axel stops suddenly, staring in horror at the broken window. "Dem..."

Isabella stops too just in front of Roxas's unconscious body, with the Yaoi fangirls mysteriously disappearing from the area.

"Girls, stop! We got blondie here, he's all we need! Take him back to our secret base!" Isabella orders, smirking victoriously with her hands on her hips at a mission accomplished.

Meanwhile near the school entrance, Yuffie notices Riku rushing out of the school building, coming in her direction and instinctively hides behind a tree. She waits until Riku exits through the gate before coming out of hiding.

"Th-that was close!" She sighs, putting a hand over her beating heart. "What the heck is wrong with me? After that thing earlier..." She has a flashback of what Riku has told her earlier after the game and shivers. "Stupid prick! Why did you have to go and make it awkward between us? I hate feeling awkward around my enemies!"

"Yuffie?"

She freezes, and then slowly turns around to find Rikku blinking confusedly at her.

Yuffie relaxes immediately, sighing in relief. "For a second there I thought you were the other 'Riku'..."

"Riku? You _just_ missed him, he just went that way..." Rikku points at the direction Yuffie's prick has just left from. "Do you want me to call him for y-"

"NO!"

Rikku's eyes open wide, startled. "Umm... okay... So, anyway! Yuna is waiting for you inside. You're still going to help us prepare for tomorrow's Halloween party right?"

"Y-Yeah of course," Yuffie replies, starting to calm down. "Let's go in..."

Meanwhile outside at the opposite side of the school, Axel is scanning the area for any sign of Demyx, his heart pounding fast for fear of losing his childhood friend. _"You moron... Why did you do that again? You just got out of the fucking hospital! If something happens to you... I..."_

"Hey Ax! Are you looking for me?" A carefree familiar voice asks.

Axel whirls around in shock to find Demyx standing there, perfectly okay, an innocent look on his face, casually waving a hand.

"What the f..." Axel stops when he notices his friend drenched in a red gooey substance. "Wh-What happened to you man?" He asks worriedly, immediately thinking its blood.

Demyx looks down at himself, then up at Axel again and shrugs simply. "I fell into a pool of jelly."

"Where did the friggin' pool of jelly come from?"

He shrugs again.

"Whatever man," Axel sighs, rubbing his temple, used to the madness that seems to follow them everywhere they go. "Let's get the hell outta here!"

Later, at Sora's house...

Sora is eating a bowel of cereal and watching TV when suddenly, the front door busts open and Axel and Demyx come in, with the blonde still drenched in jelly and dripping chunks of it all over the carpet.

Sora stares at them casually. "Where were you before guys? We waited for you but you never showed up, so we cancelled our plan and went home."

Axel stares at him coolly for a while before replying with a hint of a grudge in his voice, "You're lucky we still wanna be friends."

"Huh?" Sora blinks at them innocently, confused.

"Anyways, we came here bearing ill news about your cousin - our friend - Roxas," Axel speaks gravely, a grim look on his face.

"What happened to Roxas?" The brunette asks quietly, apprehensive.

Axel looks down before attempting to continue, "I'm afraid he's-"

Just then Roxas comes through the front door, looking like a mess. He stops at the doorway and glares at their direction, a dead-tired look on his face.

"ROXAS! YOU'RE ALIVE!" Demyx exclaims delightedly.

"Oh, good, you made it," Axel smirks, glad.

"What happened?" Sora asks, looking at them in utter confusion.

"Did they rape you?" Axel asks suddenly at the same time.

"NO!" Roxas snaps, shooting him a moody death-glare.

"Oh, good, so I didn't miss anything," the red-head relaxes again, his devilish smirk back on.

Sora and Demyx sweat-drop as Roxas makes zombie steps toward them and slumps on the sofa next to Sora. "My fangirls saved me from his fangirls," he tells them, referring to Sora's fangirls. "They ambushed them in their secret base... it was like a freaking war back there... I escaped while they were busy fighting each other."

"We all survived! Isn't that awesome?" Demyx exclaims cheerfully while sitting down on the sofa along with Axel.

"Yeah, the madness is over for now," Axel replies casually, leaning back comfortably and making himself at home.

"Uhh... do you realize what time it is?" Sora sweat-drops at him and Demyx.

"No, what time is it?" Axel asks calmly while taking the remote control from the coffee table, and then casually flipping through the channels.

"It's eleven thirty. Maybe you should go home-"

Axel, Demyx and Roxas freeze when the red-head flips to a channel showing _**Teletubbies**_.

Sora stops talking when he notices the horrified look on Axel's and Roxas's faces, confused. "What?"

"Q-Quick, Axel! Change the channel!" Roxas turns to the red-head panicky, his face ashen.

"OH MY GOD! IT'S THE RERUN OF MY FAVORITE EPISODE!" Demyx gasps delightedly, excited. He steals the remote control from the dazed Axel and turns the volume up, to Axel's and Roxas's supreme horror.

"NOO!" Roxas throws himself at Demyx, snatching the remote control from him and standing up while panicky pressing the button. But for some reason, the channel is not changing.

"IT'S NOT CHANGING! THE CHANNEL IS NOT CHANGING GUYS!" Roxas exclaims hysterically while madly pressing the buttons.

"YOU IDIOT! YOU'RE HOLDING THE REMOTE UPSIDE DOWN!" Axel yells while standing up after the blonde and trying to take the remote from him. "PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER MAN!"

They start fighting for the remote, pulling it between them - despite the fact they have a shared goal - until it slips from their hands, flies into the air, and ends up falling into the fish tank.

All the while, Sora is watching them with fascination, slowly eating from his bowel of cereal and thinking it is better than the soap opera he's been watching earlier.

Axel has taken out the remote control from the fish tank but is horrified to find it not working anymore. He tries to do it manually but Demyx won't let him, shielding the TV with his body.

Luckily, Roxas outsmarts them all by simply pulling off the plug. He and Axel relax, letting out a huge sigh of relief while Demyx sulks to himself in the background.

"Those fatasses... a haunting nightmare!" Axel spits out. "I was _**this**_ close to actually burning your TV you know!" He tells Sora.

The brunette blinks at him innocently, genuinely confused. "But why? I like Teletubbies..."

_**Silence. **_They turn to stare at him slowly.

"I can't believe I'm related to you..." Roxas shakes his head.

"What, Demyx likes it too!" Sora retorts defensively, pointing his spoon at mentioned blonde.

"And you're our school's most popular guy too... Can't believe this..." Axel shakes his head as well.

Suddenly, they hear footsteps coming from the stairs behind them and look back to find Squall stepping down. "For one day... I want to go to sleep without being disturbed by you...for _one_ goddamn day!"

Sora chuckles nervously at his father while sinking down behind the sofa.

Squall stops at the last step and looks at Axel and Demyx, who are staring back at him curiously. "They your new friends?" He asks Sora calmly, pointing at them with his thumb.

Axel immediately thrusts himself forward in front of Squall, extending his hand to shake. "Yup! We are your son and your nephew's friends, name's Axel, got it memorized? And that back there is Demyx. You musta seen us on the news few days ago!"

Squall carefully takes Axel's hand and shakes it while saying, "Yes...I heard a little about you two. How old are you again?" He asks, eying the red-head with suspicion. Behind him, Rinoa is descending the stairs in slow steps, watching them curiously.

Sora and Roxas exchange a troubled look, but Axel is handling it smoothly, coolly answering, "We're eighteen, perfectly legal," he adds the second bit while flashing Sora's mom a devilish smirk as she stops to stand beside her husband.

Sora drops his spoon in shock at Axel's boldness while Roxas face-palms, thinking, _"Axel... You are shameless..."_

To their relief and fortunate, Squall is too focused on their age issue, and hasn't notice that Axel just shamelessly attempted to flirt with his wife. "Oh so you're seniors?" He states, crossing his arms.

Roxas and Sora relax immediately, thanking the heavens for their good luck.

"Nope," Axel replies casually, smirking.

"Excuse me?" Squall scowls suspiciously as Roxas and Sora tense again, cursing Axel in their heads.

"We're in the same grade as Captain Spiky and Roxy over here. We just got held back a...couple of years," his smile stretches 'innocently'.

_Silence_.

"So, what, do you smoke, shoplift, do drugs?" Squall asks sharply with his arms still crossed

"Honey..." Rinoa sighs at her husband.

"Naah, drugs are nasty! But the other stuff, yeah, occasionally... Among other things..." Axel trails off with a perverted mysterious smirk.

Squall's eyes then widen slightly in alarm as he looks between Axel and Sora's direction. "Are you... gay?" He asks quietly, as if afraid of the answer.

Sora's head pops up from behind the Sofa, staring wide-eyed at his father in appall while Roxas and Demyx stifle a chuckle.

"Don't worry pops," Axel starts patting Squall's shoulder reassuringly. The older man glares at the hand touching him quietly, irritated. "I'm not interested in your son. Half the school is, but we're not," he says, referring to himself and Demyx. "Nobody is touching your precious untainted boy," the red-head finishes with a wicked smirk. "He's safe."

"So you are... gay," Squall tenses, thinking of murdering Sora later for not mentioning he's made friends with people with such _terrific_ qualities.

"No, but I'm cool with it, y'see, I have a friend called Larxene, she's gay, but I'm not gonna start judging her just 'cause she has sex with girls-"

"Oh God..." Roxas sighs, face palming again in the background.

Rinoa smiles weakly while watching her husband's reaction.

"..." Squall is staring at the red-head quietly with an unreadable expression.

"Look, we don't drag others with us in the path of self-destruction, it's ours alone, so don't worry pops. Your son and nephew are safe," Axel reassures again, smirking. "We keep them out of our shit... Most of the time."

"At least you're honest..." Squall sighs tiredly, relaxing a bit.

"Yeah, honest... Most of the time," he smirks 'innocently'.

"Well that's nice, isn't it honey? Sora keeps making more and more friends," Rinoa smiles warmly.

"Yeah... and each one of them is a piece of work. I wonder what kind of friend he will bring next, some kid whose absence and presence are all the same I hope," her husband says wearily, turning to go back upstairs. "Go home already; your parents must be worried about you."

"Oh we don't live with our parents, we have our own apartment," Axel tells him casually.

Squall stops momentarily on his way up the stairs, sighing sarcastically, "Great..."

Later after Sora's parents have gone upstairs, Axel turns to Sora and says, smirking like usual. "Your parents are cool. I think your dad likes me!"

At that, Roxas and Sora exchange a look and sweat-drop.

Suddenly, Demyx gets off the sofa and asks randomly, "Hey guys... where is the bathroom? I forgot I need to pee... Hehe…"

_Meanwhile, at Riku's house, in his room…_

The silver-head is talking with a very pissed-off Kairi on the phone as he's pacing around in his room.

"…Where the heck were you? We waited a whole hour! And then we had to cancel all our plans because of you, you _jerk_!"

Riku sighs tiredly, rubbing his temple. "Look, I told you already, I got into a situation I couldn't escape, got delayed. It wasn't my fault. I didn't stand you up on purpose."

"What situation? Explain yourself dammit!"

He clears his throat. "It – It doesn't matter. I'm exhausted, it's been a long day. Good night."

"Riku! Don't you dare hang up on me!"

He sighs again, "What else do you want from me? It's almost twelve o'clock and I'm fucking exhausted!"

"What did you say to Yuffie after the game? She's been acting weird ever since…"

"Huh?" He stops pacing, suddenly interested. "She has?" He questions, an arrogant smirk spreading across his face.

"So, dear Riku has finally found someone he likes, how precious," she teases playfully, then excitedly she rushes, "I could help you if you want—"

"No thanks," he says quickly, sweat-dropping. "I can handle myself. You just focus on Sora, he's the hopeless one."

She chuckles. "I don't know about that… last time I checked, Yuffie hates your guts."

"Hmph," he smirks to himself knowingly.

"Someone's a little too arrogant," she giggles. "Besides, have you forgotten? She's taking Zexion to the party tomorrow. Those two seem close. He's the only member of her Anti-Riku club; they must have had a lot of time to bond."

"…" Riku scowls to himself at the memory of walking in on Yuffie kissing Zexion.

Kairi laughs out loud when she's met by complete silence. "I feel so sorry for you! Getting Yuffie seems like near impossible…"

"I don't give a fuck about that nobody Zexion, he's no match for me."

"Hey…" Kairi's tone becomes serious. "Try not to ruin her date tomorrow okay? That'd make you look like a jealous jerk. Definitely would make your chances with her even worse than they already are."

"Hmph. Night Kairi," he says and immediately hangs up, placing his phone back on the nightstand.

Right as he is taking his shirt off before going to bed, he catches Yuffie staring in his room's direction through the window. Ironically, on top of the fact that they are neighbors, their rooms are also directly facing each other.

Yuffie cringes when he discovers her, immediately pulling her curtains closed.

"Dammit!" She begins pacing the room panicky. "He frigging saw me! Fuck, how am I going to explain to his arrogant thick head that it was an accident!" She crumbles to the floor in despair, falling on her knees, and starts smacking her head repeatedly with both hands. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why did I look outside my window at this precise moment! CURSE YOU, MY BAD TIMING!" She hollers at the ceiling.

Suddenly, her cellphone - sitting on her bed – starts ringing. She tenses, her eyes widening. "Shit, it must be Prick!"

Nervously, she goes over to her bed and picks up her cellphone. She stares at the caller ID 'Prick' reluctantly for a while before answering it, "IT WAS AN ACCIDENT PRICK!" She exclaims before he has a chance to say anything. "I wasn't checking you out okay? Ew."

She hears Riku laugh and pouts to herself, embarrassed.

"Then why do you have binoculars that I sometimes see you use to watch me in my house with?" He asks teasingly, his voice obviously very amused and cocky.

"Imbecile!" She blurts out suddenly, making Riku laugh again. "I wasn't using them to check you out like some creepy stalker fangirl... I was monitoring my enemy's movements! To find the perfect time to set up my traps! That's all!"

"I know, but still…" His tone becomes low and seductive then, "You like what you see right?"

She flushes profusely and hangs up, tossing the phone on her bed aggressively. "Perverted, conceited prick…" She grumbles under breath while making her to her bathroom to brush her teeth before going to sleep.

Later, in the middle of the night, Yuffie keeps tossing in her bed sleeplessly. Riku's haunting words after the game rewinding in her head:

"_I'm going to get you, Yuffie Kisaragi."_

"_Damn it..."_ She curses in her head, pulling her pillow over her head frustratedly. _"Prick can't be trusted! He doesn't want me… he wants to make my life hell! I bet he's planning to use me; he's taking his revenge for all the pranks I pulled on him! What other reason would he go after a girl like me, who's got nothing and can't even be compared to his fangirls? Apparently stealing my first kiss wasn't enough, and now he's going after my… virginity? Zex is right… he is EVIL! That must be his plan! I have to find a way to counter it!"_

_**Next day, evening at Sora's house, just before party…**_

Sora comes into the kitchen, dressed in his vampire costume. He turns to his dad who is reading the newspaper at the table and grins. "What did you think dad? Do I look cool or what?"

Squall continues reading the paper, ignoring his son. His mother turns from the sink and smiles warmly at Sora, hurriedly making her way over to her son. "Aww you look adorable!" She pinches Sora's cheek lovingly, causing him to pout at her in annoyance.

She laughs at his reaction and hurries over to the next room to grab their digital camera. "Wait just a moment! I have to take a picture!" On her way, she meets Roxas in his pirate costume coming toward the kitchen and winks at him. "Don't you look dashing too?"

He grumbles a sulky reply, pulling a seat in front of Squall at the table.

Squall looks over his paper at Roxas curiously. "Someone isn't happy to go to the party."

"I think it's lame," the blonde replies wearily. "It's all Kairi's fault I'm going."

Squall smiles a bit. "She dragged you too? She used to do that with Riku before. Just like you, he thought those parties were lame. Kairi and Sora eventually changed his mind though." Casually, he returns to reading his paper.

"Uh-huh," Roxas replies, uninterested. _"That witch Kairi… I'm going to get back at her for this…"_

As if hearing his thoughts, Kairi comes in through the backdoor in the kitchen, dressed in her cupid costume, which consists of a cute knee-length baby pink gown.

"Oh wow, you look absolutely gorgeous Kairi!" He hears Sora's mom say suddenly behind him as she is coming back into the kitchen, perking up.

"Oh hey Kai!" Sora grins goofily at his long time childhood friend. "You look great!"

"Thanks guys!" Kairi replies shyly, smiling.

Curiously, Roxas turns around in his seat to take a look at her. He gapes at her when he sees her.

Rinoa chuckles warmly at his reaction. "Look, Roxas can't even take his eyes off you!"

"Shut up!" Roxas blurts out, blushing from embarrassment.

Sora grins, thoroughly enjoying this, until Roxas shoots him a death-glare that wipes the smile off his face entirely.

Later, after Rinoa forces the trio to have her take pictures of them, she turns to her husband and sighs dreamily. "We have a very handsome son don't we?"

Sora grins sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. Kairi smiles at him warmly and says, "Yes you do, Mrs. Leonhart." Roxas rolls his eyes at this.

"Hn," Squall replies distractedly while flipping through the newspaper.

Rinoa pouts at him. "Squall."

"It's Leon."

"_Squall_, tell our son how handsome and charming you think he is."

Sora sweat-drops, chuckling weakly as Squall stops reading and looks up at her like she's insane. "Woman, are you mad?"

Roxas snickers to himself at the table while Kairi covers her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle.

"Tell him. Now." Rinoa glares at him sternly, crossing her arms in front of her.

"But—" Squall sweat-drops, troubled.

"_Now_."

Squall grumbles something unintelligible under his breath and turns to his son slowly. Sora is taken aback, feeling just as awkward as his father.

"Son… I think…" He pauses, glancing briefly at his wife, who is still glaring at him, pressing him to continue. He sighs and looks back at his son. "…you are a very… handsome… and charming young man." He turns to glare at his wife. "There, I said it, are you happy?"

Sora sweat-drops. "Dad… you're creepy."

Squall immediately hits the top of his head with his rolled up newspaper.

"OW!" Sora winces, pouting childishly at his dad, making Kairi and Roxas chuckle.

Then, Kairi takes both boys' arms and glances both ways at them, smiling. "Ready?"

"Have fun, kids!" Rinoa waves at them, smiling.

Meanwhile, Roxas is pouting at Kairi, a hint of a blush on his cheeks. "Don't touch me," he grumbles.

She pulls him to her extra close aggressively, turning to smile at him innocently as she does so.

"Witch…" He mutters under his breath while glaring at her, but as always, she is immune to his death glare, staring ahead of them casually, a happy grin on her face. He blushes and looks away.

"TO NAMI'S HOUSE!" She exclaims excitedly, dragging them with her as she barges out of the backdoor.

"**YEAH**!" Sora exclaims loudly too, even more excited. Roxas sweat-drops, letting out a defeated sigh as Kairi starts humming a song happily all the way to Naminé's house.

_Later at Naminé's house_

Cloud is watching Sora silently while sitting on the sofa across from him and Roxas.

Sora swallows nervously under his watch while Roxas is sitting back, bored as hell. Kairi has gone up to Naminé's room with the costume she's made for her and it's been twenty minutes since then.

"So," Cloud speaks suddenly in his quiet deep tone, startling the brunette. "You're Naminé's date I suppose?"

"O-O-Oh no... Ka-Kairi is," he replies nervously, earning a curious raised eyebrow from Roxas beside him.

Cloud scowls at him suddenly, inwardly confused.

Sora panics at his expression, thinking, _"Crap, he looks like he's gonna kill me… wait, why me? Kairi's her date!"_

"You don't have to lie to me. Tell me the truth."

"I-It is the truth! Kairi's her date…" Then he motions at Roxas panicky. "A-And Roxas is mine."

Roxas face-palms at this while Cloud's eyes widen in surprise, caught off-guard. "You… are gay?" He pauses, looking away and nodding to himself thoughtfully. "It makes a lot of sense…" Suddenly, he appears relaxed.

Sora gawks at him stupidly for a while and then quickly shakes his head. "NO! I'm not gay! I'm straight, I'm _straight_! Don't go telling your daughter I'm gay!" He points a warning finger at Cloud.

Cloud smirks. "Frankly, I _was_ planning to do that."

"EVIL!" Sora blurts out, narrowing his eyes at him.

Right then, Tifa comes into the living room with a tray of freshly baked cookies. "Hey handsome boys!" She winks at them. "I made some yummy cookies!"

"**COOKIES**!" Sora attacks the tray, causing Roxas to shake his head and Cloud to sweat-drop.

"Do you have milk?" Sora asks Tifa while chewing his cookie.

She giggles. "Yes, wait right there. I'll go bring you a glass."

"Thanks a lot Teef!" He grins appreciatively and proceeds to devour the cookies.

Cloud sighs, thinking, _"How can I see a boy who likes milk with his cookies as a threat to my daughter's virtue? I guess Tifa's right. I am worrying too much."_

_Ten minutes later…_

Finally, Kairi comes down the stairs excitedly. Sora, Roxas, Cloud and Tifa wait for Naminé's descending in front of the stairs.

"Come on Nami! Don't be shy!" Kairi urges the blonde.

Sora waits for Naminé to come down with his heart pounding excitedly in his chest.

"Come on sweetie! Everybody's waiting for you!" Tifa calls out sweetly.

At last, Naminé shows up, dressed in a black witch costume, with a witch hat and everything.

Sora, without thinking, exclaims out loud innocently, "THAT COSTUME IS PERFECT FOR YOU!"

Naminé immediately pouts at him as she's descending the stairs. "You think I'm a witch?" She glares at him with a scowl.

"Huh?" Sora realizes the mistake he's made and immediately shakes his head as everyone laughs, even Cloud is chuckling. "No! I-I didn't mean it like that! I swear! Naminéeee!" His shoulders slump dejectedly.

Kairi shakes her head at him, giggling. "You're hopeless…"

"I think you and Kairi should switch costumes," Roxas says bluntly. "The witch outfit is more fitting for her in my opinion."

"WHAT?" Kairi turns her head swiftly at him with a menacing expression.

Luckily, Tifa distracts her, pulling up a camera randomly. "Say _cheese_ everyone!"'

She takes a random picture of a cutely pouting Naminé, a sulking Sora with his shoulders slumped, a vicious looking Kairi fitting the term witch, a bored looking Roxas, and an aloof Cloud.

_Later outside, walking to the party…_

Kairi drags Roxas sneakily to the back with her, leaving the other two to walk ahead by themselves together.

Suddenly, Roxas whispers to her, "I'm onto you."

"Huh?" Kairi blinks at him, genuinely confused.

"Your plan. I'm your date after all."

Kairi smiles sheepishly. "Oh come on, do it for Sora's sake at least!"

He sighs, "Fine... but if my fangirls murder you, it's not my fault."

"Oh please. They can't touch ME."

"Oh yeah… I forgot… I guess there's an advantage to being stuck with you after all."

"Hey!" She glares at him irritatedly. "You don't have to make it sound like that… Sheesh… You're so rude..."

"Sorry, I'm not a goody-two-shoes like your beloved Sora," he tells her sarcastically.

_Meanwhile, with Sora and Naminé…_

"Look… about back there… I-I really didn't mean it, I don't think you're a witch… _most of the time_," he adds the last bit quietly to himself.

"I know. You're an idiot, you can't help it."

"Yea— _Hey_!"

She giggles hard. Sora watches her, smiling softly.

"Actually… I think you look really cute," he tells her softly in a serious tone.

Naminé stops giggling and looks away to hide her blush from him. "So are yo—" She abruptly stops herself, blushing harder.

Luckily for her, Sora hasn't heard it. "Huh?" He questions cluelessly.

"N-Nothing. It's nothing."

_Meanwhile, at Axel's and Demyx's apartment…_

Axel has just woken up, at 6 PM, because he's stayed up late the other day, like usual. He exits his bedroom, stretching and yawning, to find Demyx dressed in his zombie costume, watching TV while sitting on the couch.

"You should have dressed as Corpse Bride. That would certainly entertain the chakrams," Axel tells him jokingly.

"Ha ha…" Demyx laughs sarcastically. "Maybe _you_ should, Ax."

"Nope. I'm not wearing a stupid Halloween costume. I'm going as my normal self… It should be freaky enough," he smirks devilishly while sitting next to Demyx on the couch. "Whatcha watching? ..._Oh, please, no_… Not this shit-toon again…"

Suddenly, Selphie barges into their apartment, dressed as the Corpse Bride, ironically.

"Helloooo darliiiing!" She immediately jumps on a startled Demyx's lap. "Did you miss me?" She winks at him flirtatiously.

Axel glares at her hatefully, barely resisting the urge to set her on fire right then. "What on earth do you think you're doing invading my personal territory, it?"

"It's Dem-Dem's also!" She retorts, staring back at Axel mockingly while hugging Demyx's neck.

"You little piece of shit…" Axel hisses under his breath, seriously contemplating setting her hair on fire at least.

Demyx sweat-drops. "C-Calm down, Ax. I invited her here. She's my date for the Halloween party remember? Hehe…"

Suddenly, another person peek their head in, as Selphie has forgotten to close the door behind her.

"Rikku!" Demyx exclaims, immediately standing up, forgetting about Selphie, who's stumbled back and managed to stand on her two feet without falling back.

Rikku comes in, dressed as a pop star. "Hey Demmy! Hey Selphie!" She grins cheerfully, and then her eyes fall on Axel, staring at her indifferently, and she blushes. "H-Hey Axel!"

"Great… nobody told me we're throwing the fucking party here," Axel rolls his eyes sarcastically.

"I invited Rikku to come with us to the party, Ax," Demyx tells him nervously.

"What?" Axel and Selphie bark at the same time.

"Am I… being a nuisance?" Rikku smiles awkwardly.

"No!" Demyx quickly exclaims, earning a small pout from Selphie. "We'll love to have you come with us! Right guys?"

"O-Of course…" Selphie smiles forcefully.

"Whatever…" Axel rolls his eyes at the same time.

"Thanks guys," then she turns to Demyx and smiles gratefully. "Thanks Demmy. You're really nice."

Selphie pouts jealously, looking away, upset that Demyx is actually blushing. "N-No problem, that's what friends are for… hehe…" He smiles goofily.

"Can I use your bathroom? I need to fix my make-up," Rikku asks suddenly, looking around.

"Sure, it's that way," Axel replies casually, pointing at the direction.

"Th-Thanks," she smiles at him, nervously walking past him toward the bathroom.

_A few minutes after she's left…_

Selphie starts mimicking Rikku mockingly. "'Aw you're so nice Demmy!' …Bleh! Demmy this, Demmy that!" Beside her, Demyx sweat-drops, smiling weakly. "My nickname for you is better right? _Right_? Dem-Dem is waay cuter!"

"Eh… yeah… Hehe…" He sweat-drops again.

"You controlling bitch!" Axel glares at her in disgust. "He's not yours!"

"He's my _boyfriend_!" She hugs Demyx's arm possessively.

"He's MY best friend!" Axel takes the other arm and pulls him to his side.

Demyx sweat-drops between them, troubled. Right then, Rikku comes back, watching the scene curiously.

"Why can't you just be happy for us?" Selphie says.

"Fuck you!" Axel spits out. "I don't care about _your _happiness, _it_. I'm not going to let you take advan—"

Rikku slaps him shut across the face. He freezes, shocked at first, like everyone else in the room. They've never thought Rikku would do it, not to Axel.

"I can't forgive even you for standing in the way of Demmy's happiness," she tells him quietly. "He's been nothing but a great friend to me and he deserves to be happy. And Selphie is my friend too. I can't forgive you for insulting her either."

Axel starts snickering under his breath, smirking as he turns to face her slowly. "Oh really?" He tells her sarcastically.

"I was wrong about you," Rikku shakes her head slowly. "You're selfish. You only care about yourself. I used to think the stuff Demmy told me about you were real. That you were a real caring friend. I guess Demmy was being his usual nice self and telling nice things about you, just to make you look good in front of others…"

"Rikku… stop, please…" Demyx pleads quietly, sighing.

"Oh no Demyx… Let her continue," Axel says sarcastically. "I'm really interested to hear what this chick has to say…"

"You're an insensitive jerk who doesn't give a shit about their friends!" She finishes angrily.

_Silence._

Suddenly, Axel steps toward her with a furious scowl, trapping her against the wall as he punches a fist next to her face, leans in as she's panting, and hisses angrily by her ear, "Listen here, I'm used to being misunderstood, but I just don't giving a flying fuck what other people think about me. You can call me whatever you want, woman, but don't you _**dare**_ say I don't give a shit about my friends! Especially Demyx. You don't know anything!"

Rikku stares at his intense gaze breathlessly for a while until he steps back and leans against the other wall, crossing his arms in front of him while glaring sideways at her direction indifferently.

She looks to her other side to find that Demyx is right there beside her. He touches her arm and asks her softly, "Are you okay? Don't be scared okay… Axel would never really hurt you." He smiles at her reassuringly.

She smiles back at him weakly. "Thank you Demmy. But you really, you don't have to defend him anymore."

"Rikku…" Demyx stares at her worriedly.

"Don't worry Demmy. Come on, let's forget all this and go to the freaking party already, alright?" She smiles at him genuinely, and then back at Selphie in the background. "Let's go everyone!" She purposely avoids Axel as she leads the other two to the door.

Axel quickly gets off the wall and goes after them. "Hey! Like it or not, I'm going too!"

Rikku turns to him curiously at the doorway, somewhat in disbelief. "You are?"

"Hell yeah I am! What, do you think I'm gonna stay back here and miss all the fun because I'm supposed to be upset or something? Fuck no."

She can't help it and chuckles at that, "Fine. But I'm still upset with you."

"Who isn't?" He flashes her devilish smirk that makes her melt every time.

She turns away a bit to hide her blush. Demyx stops just outside the apartment, looks back at them, and smiles bitterly before moving on with Selphie to wait for them outside.

_Outside__, at the parking lot, walking toward Rikku's car…_

Selphie lags behind to have a little talk to Axel in private, leaving Demyx and Rikku walking ahead of them.

Axel eyes her sideways in annoyance. "What now, it?"

"Clearly, we both want her out," she tells him, looking at Rikku's direction, who's chatting and laughing with Demyx. "So we gotta work together, whether we like it or not!"

"Actually, I want you out more than her," Axel tells her bluntly.

"First let's deal with this, and then we can focus on getting rid of each other! How about it? Deal?" She stares at him hopefully.

"Your craftily concealed cunningness is something that could make me learn to accept you as my partner's girlfriend… but too bad…" He smirks devilishly. "This devil doesn't make deals."

Meanwhile, Demyx receives a text message. He takes out his cellphone from his pocket and opens it to check it out:

_**We r bk and we r waiting 4 u at the party. Did u miss us? We missed u. :)**_

"_Huh? I wonder who sent it… Weird… I don't have this number on my list…"_ He thinks, and then shrugs carelessly, stuffing his cellphone back into his pocket. _"Someone must have sent it to the wrong number!"_

_Finally, at the party…_

As soon as Sora and co enter, Sora's fangirls appear out of nowhere, squealing:

"KYAAAAH! SORA'S A VAMPIRE!"

"HE LOOKS SO HOT!"

"BITE ME! PLEASE!"

"SORA! BE MY EDWARD CULLEN!"

Pence, standing by the door with Hayner, pales at that. "Sora's fangirls are also Twilight fans!" He exclaims to Hayner dreadfully. "It's the end of the wooorld!"

* * *

**A/N:** Part 2 of the friggin'-finally-here party is coming soon! XD


	28. Halloween Party P2

Chapter 28:

Sora and Naminé were sitting around a table alone, watching the party in silence. The fangirls are glaring at Naminé from the distance, seething with jealousy. The blonde is fidgeting nervously with her black witch costume.

Sora notices this, and smiles at her reassuringly. "It's OK. You shouldn't be nervous about them, they won't touch you while Kairi's around! Plus I'm here too!" He winks at her with a grin.

Naminé smiles back at hi feebly. _It isn't them making me nervous… it's…_

She glances at Kairi's direction, busy chatting with Paine and her girlfriend, Larxene. They were one of Kairi's 'projects'. She was the one who helped them get together. _When is she coming back? _The blonde sighs mentally. _God, this is so awkward… I'm too nervous to even move…!_

Abruptly, Sora turns his head and leans in his face to study hers closely. "Your face is red… are you sick?" He asks worriedly.

"I-It's just the blusher Kairi put on me, sh-she thought I looked too pale a-and…" _Pull yourself together Nami! He's just a guy… _"Um…"

Sora leans back a bit, humming thoughtfully. "No, I don't think it's the blusher…" He extends his hand to touch her forehead but she panicky slaps it away, her face red from embarrassment, but Sora, being Sora, mistakes it for anger.

He frowns, looking somewhat hurt. "Sorry, I…" He mumbles quietly, dejectedly starting to turn his head away.

Right then, Kairi comes out of nowhere, pulls a startled Naminé up from her hand and drags her along toward the girls' restroom.

"Where are you-?" Sora asks, confused.

"She's my date remember!" Kairi reminds him while looking back through her shoulder and sticking out her tongue at him playfully.

Sora pouts, sulking as he watches the two girls disappear into the crowd.

Simultaneously, Riku and Yuffie show up at either side of Sora suddenly.

"Hey, did you see Yuffie?"

"Hey, did you see Prick?"

They pause and look at each other – in Yuffie's case, _glare_.

Riku smirks, leans back while checking out Yuffie with an amused look in his eye. "Seriously, a mime?" He chuckles and then, unable to control himself, bursts out laughing.

Yuffie continues glaring at him, unfazed. "Mimes are scary." She tells him, dead-serious, which only makes him laugh harder.

Meanwhile Sora is nodding at Yuffie in total agreement. "They scare me too… they're so creepy!"

"I know right!" Yuffie exclaims.

"Yuffie…" Riku sighs, abruptly putting an arm around her and pulling her to him.

She freezes, tense, "Th-The hell Prick? Aren't you embarrassed to be seen with me! I look like a major turn-off!" _Damnit! Enemy used charm… it's super effective!_

"So that was your plan huh? Silly Yuffie… You never cease to entertain me…" Smirking, he leans in his face and whispers softly in her ear, "What's the matter? All I did was put an arm around you… _And I plan to do so much more_…" He adds seductively, teasingly nuzzling her neck.

Immediately, Yuffie slips away from him and escapes into crowd. She joins her date, lying peacefully in his Dracula coffin at a dark corner by himself like a creep – Zexion – panting while panicky exclaiming to him, "Zex! Save me! Prick is out to get me! He already took my first kiss; I can't let him take my virginity! He's too strong… he possesses a deadly move I can't counter! No wonder the girls can't resist him…" She mutters the last bit to herself.

"Where has the old, strong Yuffie gone? The one who'd fight back… and pull pranks on him every day?" Zexion tells her calmly with his eyes closed. "The leader of the Anti-Riku club, one of the few girls in Twilight High who has not fallen victim to his evil charm? The proud, confident Yuffie Kisaragi?"

"You're right Zex! I will not be defeated so easily!" She nods determinedly, touched by his little speech.

Meanwhile, Riku leaves too, annoyed and irritated that Yuffie escaped, and also at knowing who she is likely with now.

_At the girls' restroom_

"Why aren't you taking this opportunity to get him?" Kairi demands, her hands on her hips.

"Get him?" Naminé sweat-drops. "You're talking like the fangirls…"

"Listen! Sora's _crazy_ about you! I mean _literally_! Even I'm jealous!"

Naminé is blushing, gazing at her reflection on the mirror shyly.

Suddenly, they notice a Sora fangirl eavesdropping behind of the stools through the mirror. Kairi turns around swiftly and starts kicking her out the restroom with her purse. "SCRAM!"

The fangirl runs out, shrieking.

"Geez, those fangirls are _everywhere_…" Kairi is shaking her head while going back to Naminé and digging into her purse.

The blonde simply sweat-drops at the whole thing.

"C'mere," she tells Naminé while taking out a red lipstick. She applies it to Naminé's lips and then gives her some mint.

"Why?" Naminé blinks confusedly.

The red-head smiles innocently. "For when you kiss Sora of course!"

Immediately, Naminé blushes hard, shaking her head vehemently, "Never, I am _never_ going to let him know about my feelings!"

"Why?" Kairi pouts, frustrated. "Is it the fangirls? Or are you intimidated by Sora's popularity? If it's the second case then you're an idiot. If his popularity really bothers you… then maybe you're intimidated by ours as well, is that it? Does that mean you don't want to be friends with us too?"

"No!" Naminé quickly shakes her head, appalled. "I want to be friends… I-I enjoy being with you guys very much!"

Kairi smiles softly, and then nods. "Same here." She turns to the mirror casually to check her hair. "Then what's the problem? Why won't you go out with Sora?"

"I-I can't! It's too embarrassing…" She adds quietly, looking at her feet and blushing deeper.

Kairi stops and turns to the blonde, giggling, making Naminé pout cutely.

"Awww you're so shy!" She pulls Naminé into a hug and squeezes her tightly. "That is _so_ cute! No wonder Sora likes you! That idiot is a sucker for cute things!" She giggles. "Alright, I'll be patient and wait until you feel more comfortable… but I doubt Sora will be as patient! Poor guy!" She giggles harder.

Sora has disappeared when Naminé and Kairi come back. Hoping to attract Sora's attention, wherever he may be, Kairi asks Naminé if she wants dance, but the blonde shakes her head. Bored, the red-head tells Naminé to wait for Sora at the table while she goes to find Roxas, with the intent of asking him for a dance.

But he flatly rejects her.

"So boring!" She complains, pouting. "Is there something you LIKE to do?"

"Yeah, but it's none of your business," Roxas replies rudely, staring at the party with a dull look on his face.

"Of course it is! We're friends. Tell me!"

Roxas sighs, understanding out of experience that she won't leave him alone until he answered all her questions. "…Skateboarding."

"Huh?"

He repeats a bit louder over the noise, "I like skateboarding."

Kairi blinks, interested, and then edges closer next to Roxas, to his annoyance, "You know how to skateboard? That is so cool! You have to teach me one day okay?"

Rox blinks back at her with surprise.

She grins triumphantly back. "I know what you're thinking! You're thinking… 'Waah! Kairi would be such a cool girlfriend! I should ask her out!'" She giggles playfully.

Roxas sweat-drops. "That's what YOU'RE thinking."

Suddenly, Axel makes an entrance. "YO!" He waves coolly at the crowd. They cheer, excited.

"Ax! What's up man!" Tidus exclaims excitedly.

"About time ya!" Wakka pats Axel roughly on the back as Demyx, Rikku and Selphie show up behind him.

The red-head's fangirls squeal happily, "Yay! Axel is heeere!" They gather under his arms, to Rikku's uneasiness and jealousy.

Axel gently pushes them away though, "Sorry girls… Today I'm going to hang out with my friends…" He pulls Selphie, Demyx and a madly blushing Rikku under his arms, and then leans his face in toward Selphie's ear, "This is what you get for messing with Axel, it. I'll make sure you won't get a moment alone with Dem!"

Selphie scowls up at him, cursing him in her head.

"Hey it's Ax!" Yuffie exclaims excitedly to Zexion and Marluxia – who's recently joined them –from the distance. "This party will get a whole lot interesting with HIM around!"

"You like… Axel?" Zexion asks depressingly.

"Hell no," Yuffie retorts. "He's just a friend. Besides, Rikku sooo likes him… the whole school knows about her feelings for him!"

"Too bad he's straight…" Marluxia sighs miserably all of a sudden.

Yuffie pats his back comfortingly. "It's OK Mar… Plenty of guys in the sea?" She chuckles uncertainly.

"It is alright. I am over him. There's a new guy I like now."

"Who?" Yuffie blinks curiously.

The pink-head blushes. "I-I cannot tell you."

Suddenly, Zexion is hit on the head by a flash of red blur without anyone noticing, typically. He rises from the coffin slowly like a zombie.

Yuffie turns her head to stare at him curiously. "Zex, are you OK?"

Zexion suddenly rips off his shirt, jumps out of his coffin, and joins the others at the dance floor.

Yuffie's eyes bulge out at the sight. "What the hell!"

Marluxia's jaw drops at the same time.

Everyone stops and gasps in shock at Zexion, owning the dance floor.

"Who's that guy?"

"It's Zexion man! I've finally got to see him! I must take a picture!"

"HE'S the top student in our school? Amazing! He can dance too!"

"ZEXION IS BEING RECOGNIZED!" Pence exclaims dramatically while pointing at said silver-head. "IT'S THE END OF THE _WOOORLD_!"

"ZEX!" Yuffie marches toward him, grabs him, and starts shaking him, trying to wake up some sense into him. "YOU'RE FREAKING ME OUT! SNAP OUT OF IT!"

"Wanna dance _baby_?" Zexion asks her in an uncharacteristically flirtatious tone once she's stopped shaking him, winking suggestively.

Yuffie freezes, utterly freaked out, and then abruptly she starts punching him to the floor until he lost consciousness. Everyone sweat-drops.

Meanwhile, the 'flash of red blue', AKA, Chakrams, return and strikes Marluxia's head this time, without anyone even noticing. He swiftly walks up toward Yuffie and grabs her hand while kneeling on one leg. "Marry me!"

"THE _HELL_?" Yuffie exclaims, caught off-guard.

"I am suddenly craving female appendages. Most notably…" His eyes travel down to her breasts, and he licks his lips. "…Boobs."

"BUT YOU'RE GAY!" Yuffie gawks at him.

"But I feel very straight…" The pink-head tells her somewhat confusedly.

Everyone gasps dramatically.

"HOLY SHIT! MARLUXIA IS STRAIGHT!" Pence exclaims hysterically. "IT'S THE END OF THE _WOOORLD_!"

Suddenly, they hear a fangirl squeal coming from a person who's just left the corridor, "KYAAAAAAAAAAH! SORA KISSED ME!"

They all gasp dramatically again, turning to her.

"Holy mother of – SORA KISSED A FANGIRL? IT'S THE END OF THE WOOORLD!" Pence exclaims again, clutching his head in disbelief.

"H-How?" Isabella chokes out, confused like the rest.

The fangirl enthusiastically replies to her leader, "I asked him, and he really did it! He kissed me! MY LIFE IS COMPLETE!" She swoons.

"B-BUT! SORA WOULD NEVER KISS A… A…A _FANGIRL_!" Pence blurts out with disgust.

Hayner nods vehemently. "True! He would never sink that low!"

Isabella scowls at him in annoyance. "Shut up, irrelevant wallpapers!"

They cringe, obviously she hit them where it hurts.

Everyone starts murmuring to each other.

"What is happening?" Yuna with utter bewilderment.

"Madness," Fuu replies simply.

Larxene, sitting on Paine's – her girlfriend's – lap, sneers. "My, this is getting interesting…"

Paine nods in silent agreement.

"Give the guy a break," Seifer rolls his eyes. "So he finally decided to screw around. Good for him."

"He's a guy after all y'know?" Rai adds.

"But it is so unlike him…" Riku says suspiciously. "Sora is terrified of his fangirls."

Yuffie nods, "Riku's right. This can't be Sora…"

Everyone gasps suddenly.

"What?" Yuffie raises an eyebrow.

"YUFFIE CALLED RIKU BY HIS NAME! IT'S THE END OF THE WOOORLD… FOR **SURE**!" Pence exclaims dramatically, making Yuffie roll her eyes.

"Actually, she's already called him by his name a couple of times in early chapters," Axel points out calmly.

_Silence_. Everyone turns to look at him.

"Can we focus on Sora people?" Axel sighs.

Meanwhile, Naminé is staring down at her feet sadly. Kairi is immediately by her side, putting arm around her encouragingly, "Don't worry. I'm sure it's not true. Sora would never—"

Right on cue, Sora enters from the corridor, smirking in an uncharacteristic bad-boy style. His friends immediately march toward him.

"Sora, what the hell is going on?" Kairi demands angrily. "A fangirl said you were kissing her back there!"

"Yeah, so?" The brunette replies casually, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

They all gasp dramatically, again, while Naminé just stares at him, wide-eyed and hurt.

"SO? _SO_? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Kairi explodes.

Demyx appears out of nowhere, grabs Sora and starts shaking him roughly back and forth. "Sora, is that you?"

"Of course it's him you idiot," Yuffie glares at him exasperatedly.

"Maybe the fangirls hypnotized him!" Selphie guesses, gasping.

Roxas sweat-drops. "I wouldn't put it past them…"

"All I did was kiss her. Geez," Sora rolls his eyes.

"B-But you're Sor Sor!" Selphie exclaims confusedly. "You don't kiss just anyone! You're a virgin! The epitome of innocence and pureness! The loyal type saving himself for the girl he loves! I respected you for that!

'Sora' freezes suddenly. "What? Sora—_I'm_ a virgin?" He makes a disgusted face. "That is so uncool. I have to do something about it tonight!"

Everyone gasps dramatically once again, shocked.

"Guys! I think I know what's going on!" Rikku exclaims. "Look at the bump on his head! He, Zex and Mar must have been hit by something and now their alter egos are taking over them! That's the only logical explanation!"

"What should we do?" Selphie asks panicky.

Yuffie lifts a baseball bat out of nowhere, "HIT THEM AGAIN!"

Riku stops her instantly, grabbing her hand. "Are you trying to kill them?"

'Sora' sneers. "Stupid bitch. Sora and I are one. I'm part of him. Deep down, your precious Sora isn't the innocent you make him out to be!"

They gasp, yet again.

"Sora said the B word! It's the end of the _WOOORLD_!" Pence exclaims in horror.

"What the fuck is this?" Axel thrusts up his arms in front of him exasperatedly. "Your idea of Halloween theatrics? 'Cause its frigging working! You're freaking me out… big time!" He leans back and smirks suddenly in a twisted way. "I'm _lovin'_ this…"

"Doomsday," Fuu remarks simply.

Demyx scratches his head confusedly. "I'm confused… how can there be two Soras…?"

Rikku smiles at him weakly, sweat-dropping. "Demmy… I think this means that Sora has two personalities… he's bipolar… I think!"

"Yeah…" Axel nods. "Just like you, Dem."

Demyx gasps. "He has voices in his head too?"

Rikku sweat-drops again. "You hear voices in your head?"

"Yeah! All the time!"

"Erm… what are the voices telling you now?" Kairi asks curiously, sweat-dropping.

Demyx closes his eyes, going into a deep thinking pose. "Wait… let me listen…"

_Silence._

"A loser AND a freak…" Larxene stares at him with disgusted.

Axel leans in toward to a blushing Rikku, "Usually, what they have to say is VERY interesting..." He whispers to her, smirking.

Meanwhile, Isabella sneaks to 'Sora's' side. "Hey, wanna have fun?" She winks at him flirtatiously, planning to take advantage of the situation.

'Sora' smirks pervertedly. "Yeah sure, why not?"

She takes his arm and glances mockingly at a crestfallen Naminé hidden in the background behind her friends, as she guides him away with her to an empty classroom.

"I like this Sora. What a pimp," Seifer nods at him with newfound respect.

"This is definitely not the real Sora! Rikku must be right; it's his alter ego or something!" Kairi exclaims. "We must do something quick! Before that bitch Isabella takes advantage of the situation and steals Sora's virtue!"

They gasp dramatically in horror.

"Not Sora's virtue!" Yuffie cries. "WE MUST STRIKE HIM WITH **THIS**!" She lifts up the baseball bat again.

"No!" Riku sweat-drops, stopping her again. "That is murder." He tells her slowly, lowering her hand.

"SORA IS ABOUT TO GET LAID!" Pence exclaims. "IT'S THE END OF THE WOO—"

Seifer elbows him harshly on the stomach. "Shut it fatass."

"You're getting annoying y'know?" Rai adds.

"WANNA FIGHT?" Hayner immediately goes into a defensive stance, glaring at Seifer.

"Guys, forget that," Roxas interrupts them. "What do we do about Sora? I'm kinda worried about him."

The Yaoi fangirls appear out of nowhere, "KYAAAAAH! HE'S _WORRIED_! IT MUST BE **TRUE LOOOVE**!"

Maleficent pops up after them randomly and starts chasing the shrieking Yaoi fangirls out, "FEAR THE AFTERLIFE SLUTS!"

Everyone sweat-drops.

"What the fuck?" Axel mutters quietly.

Suddenly, Demyx wheels in a whiteboard from God knows where, and points to a diagram of Sora's brain before explaining in an uncharacteristically sophisticate manner, "The voices in my head tell me that Naminé strife occupies 80% of Sora's thoughts, therefore, their advice is that we send Naminé after him. She would be the ideal trigger to waking him up."

_Complete and utter silence._

"Seriously, what the fuck?" Axel says again.

Naminé's eyes widen alarmingly at the same time. "M-Me?"

Kairi beams suddenly, a mischievous smile on her face. "That's a great idea Dem!"

"Kyaaah! That's my Dem Dem!" Selphie squeals, hugging his arm.

"Wow, I'm impressed Demmy!" Rikku stares at him in awe, amazed.

Hayner sweat-drops. "Does anyone think it's weird that this idea is coming from Demyx, of all people, or is it just me?"

"Seriously? The _Tard_ figured out the solution?" Larxene rolls her eyes, exhaling. "Ugh, I can't believe this…"

Kairi pats Naminé's shoulder abruptly, staring at her grimly. "Nam! You have to do it!"

Yuffie nods firmly. "Sora's virtue… is in your hands!" She tells the blonde in all seriousness, making Axel and Riku snicker.

Roxas sweat-drops. "That sounded so wrong…"

"Why is it, whenever _he—_" Riku says suddenly, glaring at Axel. "—shows up, madness ensues?"

The red-head smirks. "Admit it Fag. You enjoy the madness, just as much as I do."

Wakka sweat-drops. "Ax is evil ya?"

Tidus sighs. "Took you long to figure that out! Maleficent fears him for a reason man…"

A random guy decides to be relevant by adding, "He's like, the orchestrator of chaos…"

Rikku grins. "But whenever Axel is around, it is exciting isn't it?"

"Finally, someone who appreciates the greatness of chaos!" Axel exclaims, sighing.

"Naminé, go! What are you waiting for? Save him!" Kairi pushes her after Sora and Isabella, urging her on.

"Good luck Nam-Nam!" Selphie winks, waving goodbye for some reason.

Yuffie thrusts up an encouraging fist. "You can do it! FIGHT ON!"

And then, just like that, everyone turns back to the party normally, like nothing weird has ever happened. Naminé sweat-drops. _'Wow, they're so helpful… Am I the only one who's seriously worried about this…? How in the world will I snap Sora back to his senses?'_

Meanwhile, Kairi sits next to a lonely Roxas on one of the sofas.

He glares at her sideways, annoyed. "What?"

"Now is the time to focus on my other project…" She murmurs mostly to herself, gazing around searchingly for someone.

Roxas raises a confused eyebrow. "What?"

"Look!" Kairi nods at the direction of Seifer and his gang. Fuu is standing alone next to Rai while intently watching Seifer fooling around with another girl not very from them on the sofa.

"Do you like Seifer or something?" Roxas asks her carefully.

"No!" Kairi replies frustratedly. "Look at Fuu idiot! She looks miserable…" She frowns sympathetically.

Roxas blinks at her casually. "Umm… Doesn't she always look like that…?"

Kairi glares at him, irritated. "No! She likes Seifer OK? It's obvious. And I'm gonna help her hook up with him. They've been best friends since forever. Unfortunately, Seifer, like most guys, is too dense to see her feelings for him. That's where I come in!"

"It's none of your business!" Roxas stares at her incredulously. "And you complain why you don't have a boyfriend… You're too busy setting other people up."

"It makes me happy okay! Now shush!" She gestures at him to shut up, watching the two intently. Roxas rolls his eyes, uninterested. "Oh, and by the way, I need your help in this one!" She adds distractedly.

"Hell no!" The blonde retorts quickly, "You're not dragging me in this lame match making business of yours… You've dragged me to this party, haven't you tortured me enough?" Suddenly, he notices his fangirls looking for him and instinctively grabs Kairi's hand, pulling her with him to hide behind the wall, thinking to use her to keep fangirls off.

Kairi, on the other hand, totally misunderstands the situation, thinking he dragged her out of sight to make out with her.

"Oh, Roxas…" She giggles, blushing. "You could have just asked me..." She stops and her blush deepens a bit. "But I like it more this way…" She closes her eyes and waits for him to kiss her.

A distracted Roxas looking around them carefully for any sign of fangirl, pauses, and turns his head to stare at Kairi amusedly. He smirks at her expression. "You think I want to kiss you?" He asks with a hint of a chuckle in his voice.

Kairi snaps her eyes open, then scowls at him, blushing from embarrassment this time, and then abruptly stomps on his foot. "JERK!" She walks away angrily.

"W-Wait, Kai! _The fangirls_!"

"Take care of your own self! Hmph!"

Meanwhile, Riku approaches Yuffie standing near the refreshments table.

"What are you doing with that loser Zexion? Seriously, you could do better," he tells her, sneering.

Yuffie huffs. "You're not the boss of me. Sexist," she hisses the last word, about to move when Riku suddenly catches her arm, pulling her back.

She glares back at him in annoyance. "What the hell do you want Prick? Don't you have a date or something?"

"I meant what I said back then. I'm going to make you fall crazily in love with me, just like before, and more…"

Yuffie shakes her head, sighing tediously. "Dream on. That old naïve Yuffie is gone. I'm not going to be deceived by you again."

Riku is taken aback. "I never deceived you…" He mutters softly.

"You have. You made me believe that you're a good person when you're not. You play around with women like they're toys and toss them away when you're bored and done with them… like they're nothing, like they have no feelings."

Riku sighs while looking around him frustratedly before turning back to the black-head and staring at her square in the eyes. "Trust me, just trust me." He tells her softly.

"Trust you?" She snorts. "Yeah, right. Not gonna happen. Just give it up." With that, she turns around, giving him her back as she walks back toward her date, having just regained consciousness on one of the sofas. She kneels by his side, checking him worriedly.

The scene flares a variety of different emotions in Riku. He glares at Yuffie hard, begging her with his eyes to turn and look at him, but she's completely forgotten, smiling at Zexion and laughing.

The silver-head quietly leaves the party.

_Meanwhile, with Naminé…_

Naminé is hesitating to open door to the classroom where Sora's and Isabella's voices are coming from, fearing what she'll see it…

But then she remembers it is not really Sora, and the real Sora wouldn't want to be taken advantage of this way, so, with a determined expression, she gets the courage to open the door…

And inside…


	29. Halloween Party P3: Selphie's New Guy

Chapter 29:

Inside, she finds Sora kissing Isabella against one of the front desks. She blushes, tempted to turn and run away, but remembers again she's doing it for Sora's sake and stays her ground.

Sora pulls away from Isabella and turns to the blonde's direction curiously.

Isabella growls irritatedly at the intruder. "Ugh! What do you want! Get out! You're interrupting!"

Sora leaves Isabella, to her annoyance, and walks toward a now alarmed Naminé who steps back a bit, nervous.

He smirks at her like a predator, checking her out casually. "You're so much cuter… I'd rather have you…"

"E-Eh?" Naminé's eyes widen alarmingly, blushing deeper.

"HUH?" Isabella gasps in shock at the same time, and then, feeling humiliated that Sora has completely ignored her, she runs out of the classroom in tears while buttoning her shirt, pushing Naminé out of the way. "Screw you!"

Meanwhile, Sora is making slow, predatory steps toward a scared Naminé.

The blonde yelps when she realizes she's trapped herself against the wall.

"Don't worry… I promise I will be _gentle_," Sora's smirk stretches mockingly as he completely traps Naminé between his arms against the wall, slowly and tauntingly leaning in toward her neck…

_Meanwhile, with Demyx, Axel and Selphie's table…_

Selphie is glaring irritatedly at Axel, who's purposely taken the seat between her and Demyx.

"Are you gay for him or something!" Selphie hisses quietly to Axel while leaning toward him so the others won't listen.

Axel ignores her, noticing Rikku coming to their table, glaring at him. "Leave them alone Axel," she tells him, sighing. "Don't you think this is too much?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he tells her coolly, smirking innocently and then surprising her by grabbing her arm.

She blushes, caught off-guard. "Wh-What is it?"

"Let's hang out, all of us," Axel tells her calmly, alerting Selphie. "Why don't you pull a chair next to Demyx?" He coaxes her with one of his irresistible smirks.

She nervously does as he's asked, pulling a chair next to an enthusiastic Demyx.

Axel then turns his head to smirk smugly at Selphie, who scowls back at him, cursing him in her head.

_Revenge bitch! _He tells her in his head triumphantly.

Selphie stands up suddenly, looking at Axel. "Axel! I want to talk to you alone!"

_Meanwhile, back with Sora and Naminé in the empty classroom…_

'Sora' is kissing Naminé's neck. She's finding it hard to breath, unable to do anything but let him have his way with her.

She feels his hand sliding down her back, beneath her shirt, sneakily trying to unzip her bra; she blushes tremendously, but still unable to push him away. _This is not Sora… I should push him away… but…_

Sora lifts his head up, about to meet her eager lips with his, she is leaning in as well…

"S-Sora…" She barely breathes out, feeling as if her chest is about to explode.

Suddenly, he passes out, collapsing to the floor. Naminé stands there, wide-eyed, confused and breathing heavily.

Right then, Kairi shows up randomly at the doorway. "Hey I just saw Isabella leave the party, is everything okay?"

Immediately, Naminé moves away from Sora and rushes to Kairi's side. "H-He passed out…" She tells her breathlessly while staring down at her feet embarrassedly.

Kairi studies her carefully and then notices something and smirks, giggling.

Naminé looks up at her curiously. "Wh-What?"

"Why so breathless?"

The blonde blushes deeper, busted. "E-Eh?"

Grinning, Kairi points at her neck. "You have a hickey right there you know."

"EH?" She immediately tries looking down at her neck, panicking.

Kairi laughs out loud, thoroughly enjoying this. "What else happened between you two before he passed out?" She asks with a teasing smile.

"Nothing!"

Her smile stretches. "Too bad huh?"

The blonde blushes so hard, making Kairi giggle again.

Suddenly, Sora wakes up, sitting upright on the floor while rubbing his head and moaning in pain. "Wh... What happened?"

Naminé tenses, and then quickly tries to hide the hickey with her hair.

"I feel funny…" The brunette mutters, looking up at the two girls like a confused puppy.

Grinning mischievously, Kairi points below her waist. "Do you feel funny… down there?" She whispers, giggling at the embarrassed look on his face.

Sora – and even Naminé – blush profusely before the brunette snaps at her. "No!" And then while looking around confusedly, he adds, "What am I doing here anyway? Is the party over?"

"No, but we should leave now anyway. We promised Naminé's dad we'd bring her home early," Kairi says seriously this time.

_Meanwhile, outside in the corridor with Axel and Selphie…_

"Stop it will you!" Selphie hisses at Axel, casually leaning against a random locker while looking ahead of him carelessly. "Demyx and I are happy together! Why do you keep trying to ruin it? You're such a selfish friend!"

"Who said he's happy, it?" He tells her dully, staring ahead of him thoughtfully while crossing his arms. "He's just pretending to be."

"Pretending…?" She blinks at him confusedly, unsure.

"He wants to make me believe that he's moved on," he sighs, shaking his head slowly.

"Oh…" She looks down understandingly, frowning.

"That idiot… he just doesn't get it. I don't feel that way about Rikku. It's _me_, **Axel**… I don't do _relationships_. They sicken me," he says the last bit with disgust. "He should just go ahead and confess to her dammit."

Selphie smiles suddenly up at the red-head. "So you do care after all. You are capable of having feelings for someone, Axel." She tells him teasingly, giggling. "Dem-Dem is lucky to have you. I'm sorry I ever doubted you."

He glares at her with disgust. "I'm tempted to burn you, it."

She giggles harder when suddenly; a random locker in front of them slams open by itself. They freeze, staring at it with wide open eyes.

Selphie immediately clutches Axel's sleeve, sticking to him like glue. "Th-The locker opened by itself! I-I'm scared!" She buries her face into his sleeve.

He tries to shake her off, glaring at her with disgust. "Let go of me, it!" He freezes when something inside the open locker catches his eye.

A familiar box.

He ignores Selphie, dragging her with him as he slowly walks toward the locker and pulls out the box. It's open, completely empty except for a note that says:

_DeMyx MuST DiE!_

_-Chakrams_

"FUCK! The chakrams are here!" Axel curses. "They must be the ones behind everything going on today… their next target must be… Oh shit, _Demyx_!"

"Oh no! I know this box!" Selphie exclaims. "The boomerangs in them tried to hit me! Dem-Dem saved my life from them! …Will he be okay?" She asks quietly, worried.

"We have to find'im! Quick!" Axel tells her turning hurriedly toward the direction of the party.

That's when the chakrams pop up in front of them, hovering in the air, blocking their way.

"Sons of bitches…" Axel hisses angrily.

Without warning, they zoom in at their target, Selphie. She shrieks, shielding her face with her arms. When nothing happens, she opens her eyes confusedly to find herself being carried by Axel bridal-style.

"A-Axel!" She exclaims with utter surprise, wide-eyed.

"They're gone," he tells her distractedly while looking around them at the empty corridor. "They must be after Demyx now. Shit..."

"You… saved my life…" Her eyes gleam dreamily.

Axel looks down at her expression and winces in disgust, "Ugh…" And then instantly dropping a dazed Selphie to the floor on the spot, and rushing toward the party's direction to save his childhood friend.

_Meanwhile, at the party…_

Marluxia is flirting with Lulu, taking her hand and kneeling on one leg again. "Beautiful lady…"

Lulu is blinking down at her with surprise. "Huh?"

"…Would you mind if I touched your boobs?" The pink-head lifts a shaking hand. "I–I..." He gulps anxiously. "I need to touch them!"

Out of the blue, Wakka falcon punches him across the room and Tidus picks him up from his collar, "Leave my friend's girlfriend alone you creep! If you touch her again, we'll beat you up!"

Marluxia opens his eyes groggily, "Wh…What is happening?" And then his eyes open wide when he notices that he's in close proximity with Tidus, who's grabbing him by his collar, his face so close to his. The pink-head blushes. "Y-You have beautiful eyes…"

Tidus immediately pushes him away quickly and cringes in horror. "S-Stay away from _ME_!" He turns and runs off for his life.

Mar stretches a hand after him before chasing him. "W-Wait! Don't go!"

Yuffie, having watched the entire scene, sweat-drops. "Guess he found someone after all huh?" She chuckles weakly. "Good for him…"

"It appears that Riku has left the party," Zexion murmurs next to her suddenly.

Her eyes widen curiously as she notices that Zexion is right. "Hey, you're right…" She snorts and looks away quickly. "Not that I care…"

_Meanwhile, Axel makes it to Rikku and Demyx's table…_

He takes a startled Demyx's arm and pulls him. "Dude, let's get outta here! It's not safe!"

"Huh?" Demyx blinks at him dumbly.

Rikku looks up at them disappointedly, frowning. "Leaving? So soon?"

"Sorry babe, see you at school!" He tells her distractedly, and then running while dragging Demyx along out of the party.

_Outside the school, walking home…_

Axel and Demyx join Sora, Kairi, Roxas and Naminé on their way out.

As they are walking, Sora casually glances at Naminé beside him. His eyes widen dramatically when he notices the hickey.

"Who gave you that?" He blurts out impulsively, stopping everyone on their tracks. They turn back and look at them curiously. Kairi smiles to herself smugly, she's been secretly waiting for this moment.

"Ohoo!" Axel smirks. "Our wallflower got some action tonight!"

Naminé is praying that the earth opens up and swallows her right then. She's blushing so hard that her face is looking almost as red as Axel's and Kairi's hair.

"At least one of us had some fun in this crazy party…" Roxas sighs.

"WHO GAVE YOU THAT?" Sora demands, both concerned and jealous.

Kairi stifles a laugh.

Axel, Roxas and Demyx stare at her curiously.

"You know?" Roxas asks quietly, curious.

She nods and motions for them to lean closer. She whispers to them the entire story as Sora is busy pestering poor Naminé about the hickey in the background.

Soon, all four of them are stifling laughs.

"Who is it! Do you even know this guy? What are you going to tell your dad huh? Why aren't you saying anything? God, it's driving me mad!"

Sora keeps going on and on and demanding to know who gave Naminé the hickey. When Naminé remains silent, too embarrassed to tell him, Sora walks ahead by himself angrily, the jealousy clearly eating him up inside.

"Hah! This is hilarious!" Axel cracks up.

"Why is he so worked up about it?" Demyx asks stupidly.

"Duh, because he likes Naminé!" Kairi rolls her eyes, and Naminé looks down, blushing.

"Maybe we should tell him though… look at him," Roxas sweat-drops. "It's probably tormenting him."

Suddenly, Kairi pushes Naminé in Sora's direction. "Tell him Nami!" She winks.

Naminé's eyes widen in horror. "No way!" She blurts out. "I'd rather die!"

Roxas, Axel and Demyx are surprised at her reaction at first but soon, all four of them are laughing at it.

"I volunteer, let _me_ to tell him," Axel suggests, smirking.

"OK, go ahead," Kairi tells him.

"D-Does it has to be now? Too awkward…" Naminé is almost whining.

"Yeah, that idiot won't be sleeping tonight if he doesn't learn the truth…" Kairi sweat-drops.

"Wait," Axel says suddenly, watching Sora throwing a fit by himself.

"When I catch hold of this guy…" Sora is exclaiming to no one in particular, punching his hand with his fist. "He's a goner!"

"What are you waiting for? I'm starting to pity that fool," Roxas sweat-drops.

"Yeah, me too, he's going to beat himself up…" Demyx shakes his head.

"OK, now I'll go!" Axel announces suddenly.

"Why now? What were you waiting for?" Kairi asks curiously.

"Nothing, I was just relishing the moment," Axel smirks in a twisted way.

They sweat-drop at him. _Evil…_

Then they watch as Axel makes his way toward Sora and starts talking to him. Naminé is looking away the entire time, too embarrassed to even look at Sora and see his reaction.

Soon, Axel and Sora come back to them, with the brunette staring grimly at Kairi.

"S-Sorry we didn't tell you sooner…hehe…" Kairi giggles nervously.

_Silence._

"Are you serious about each other?" Sora asks Kairi quietly.

Kairi blinks at him, taken aback. "What? What you talking about?"

Suddenly, Sora crouches on the ground, sighing miserably. "I knew it! I knew you liked girls!"

_Silence. _Everyone looks up at Axel to find him laughing his ass off in the background.

"AXEEEEEEEEEEEL!" Kairi growls angrily, shaking a fist at the hysterical red-head.

_Next day, morning in Twilight High…_

Hayner and Pence are taking out their books from the locker when a blue-haired girl suddenly approaches them.

"Umm… H-Hello…"

They grin at her friendly, "Hey there! Good morning!"

"New student?" Pence asks with a friendly smile.

"Um, yeah..." She blushes shyly.

"Don't worry! Twilight's not a bad place! Crazy sometimes, but a lot of fun!" Hayner assures her with a grin.

"Yeah! And the people here are awesome!" Pence adds. "My name is Pence by the way, and this is my buddy Hayner!"

"I'm Xion. Nice to meet you," she smiles sweetly. "I better get going. I have a meeting with the principle. See you."

"See you around!" They wave at her goodbye.

"Hey… aren't we always welcoming the new students?" Pence points out. "Why is that?"

"You're right!" Hayner's eyes widen a bit. "They should put us in the school's welcoming committee or something!"

Meanwhile, Axel passing by, comments casually, "Yeah, that's about as much spotlight you two will ever get."

They cringe, their heads slumping dejectedly.

Axel stops to see his friends standing near their lockers. Kairi, Roxas and Selphie. "Yo! What's crazy today?"

"Zexion is throwing a party for this Friday," Kairi tells him. "To celebrate the… coming of exams." She sweat-drops.

"Who's Zex… Oh. Serious?" Axel raises an eyebrow.

Roxas nods. "Yeah, he handed out invitations and everything."

"Are they visible?"

Selphie pouts at Axel cutely. "Don't be meaaan! I like Zexion!"

Axel looks at her with disgust. "Hey, it, why don't you do me a favor, quit school, and become a prostitute?"

"Sex fiend!"

"Fugly thing."

Blushing, Selphie exclaims, "I-I hate you!"

Axel looks like he couldn't care less though. "Feeling is mutual."

She looks away, pretending to huff, but is actually disappointed inside.

"Guys, stop it…" Kairi sighs. "So are you going or what? Do you have something on Friday?"

Ax smirks, leaning in seductively. "Why? You askin' me to be your date babe?"

Roxas yanks Axel back suddenly. "Hey Ax, where's Demyx?"

Axel shrugs. "Dunno. I thought he's with 'it'…" He raises an eyebrow at Selphie.

"D-Dem-Dem?" Selphie answers nervously. "I don't know… We didn't come to school together today."

Axel studies her suspiciously, making her more nervous. "Weird…" He mutters finally, and then he smirks. "Aha! You've finally moved on from Dem didn't you? I knew it! Fickle as always, it! Fickle as always!"

She pouts, looking away to hide her blush.

"So who's Mr. Unfortunate now? Don't tell me! It's Zexion!" He laughs. "Good luck, it!" He pats her shoulder, smirking mockingly at her before walking away to find his friend, obviously in a good mood, immensely happy that the nuisance is no longer going to show up at their apartment anymore.

Or so he thinks.


	30. Date with Prick!

Chapter 30:

_Principal's office, Twilight High_

"Demyx, please, I beg of you! PASS THESE EXAMS!" Their principal, Ansem, pleads desperately. "You and Axel must graduate from my school already! _Especially_ Axel. I have been extremely lenient with you two… Especially Axel. But I can't help you pass if you don't even attend exams. Do you purposely want to fail? Is that your intention? To torment me until the day of my retirement? Please! I am begging you Demyx! Graduate! Graduate already! For the sake of this old man's sanity! I don't want to see you repeat this year again! Especially Axel."

Demyx's sweat-drops, shifting in his seat nervously. "Ehehe… I'm trying sir…"

"TRYING IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH! YOU WILL PASS THIS TIME AROUND! ESPECIALLY _AXEL_!" He sighs and sits back, trying to calm himself. "Boy, have you any idea how many times you've stepped into my office already?"

"Umm… _no…_ I don't… exactly count," Demyx sweat-drops.

"One hundred and two times, that's how many! You've broken a record, congratulations!" He tells him sarcastically.

"Wow! **Awesome**! How about Ax?" Demyx asks excitedly, awed.

Their principal sighs. "Seven times, back when he used to be an excellent student… he was still a fan of trouble; I have to admit, but at least not as much as now. Anyway, you will tell him what I told you, do you understand?"

"Why didn't you call him here too?" Demyx blinks dumbly.

Their principal pales, completely ashen. "C-Call _Axel_ here…? Are you out of your mind boy? A meeting with him takes years of my life!"

"Aww but he said he really likes you, Mr. Ansem…"

"L-LEAVE MY OFFICE AT ONCE!"

_Outside the principal's office_

Demyx is surprised to find Xion about to enter the office after him.

"XION?" He gasps loudly, earning annoyed glances from the staff around them.

"Demyx!" She beams, smiling. "It's good to see you!"

"Oh man! I can't believe it's you! Roxas will be so thrilled when he sees you!"

Her eyes widen in alarm. "R-Roxas is in this school?"

"Yup!"

"You can't tell him I'm here!" She tells him urgently.

He stops and blinks confusedly. "Huh? Why?"

"Roxas and I broke up. It'd be easier if he doesn't know I'm here."

"You broke up? Really? I thought you were still going out after Roxas moved out suddenly…"

She shakes her head with a frown. "We broke up…"

_Silence._

"Twilight's not a very big school. He'll know you're here eventually…" Demyx shrugs, and then curiously he asks, "Why _did_ you break up anyway? I thought you two were getting along fine… I mean, Rox had a huge crush on you for a _long_ time…"

She lowers her head, blushing a bit. "I-It's complicated… I can't tell you… I'm sorry."

"It's okay!" He assures her cheerfully, grinning.

"Promise you won't mention me to Roxas?"

"Since you asked… okay, I promise."

"Thanks Dem… s-see you," she smiles at him friendly before passing by him to enter the principal's office.

"Yeah, see ya!" He waves at her cheerfully.

_Outside, the hallway…_

Axel finally finds Demyx, coming his way. "Dude! Where the hell you've been?"

"Principal's office," the blonde tells him casually, like it's the usual thing, which it is.

"Again? What does the old geezer want this time? He's not suspending you for breaking that window again is he? I'll have a talk with him—"

"No!" His face stops him, chuckling. "It's something else. It's about the exams. He really wants us to pass."

"Oh, that shit again," the red-head quickly dismisses it. "Forget it. I'm skipping school, wanna come?"

Demyx sighs, sweat-dropping. "Ax… Don't you want to take next year with our friends? I mean, we got Rox, Rikku, Selphie and the others now… Don't you want to graduate with them? Maybe we should stay in school for the exam revisions like everyone else…"

Axel groans, rolling his eyes.

"Demmy's right."

A surprised Demyx turns around to find Rikku behind him.

"I really want you to graduate with us too. It'd be lonely without you…" Rikku softly says while staring down at her feet sadly.

Axel eyes her blankly. "Fine, Demyx will stay with you." He pushes the blonde toward her while turning to leave.

"A-Ax!" Demyx stops just in time before colliding with Rikku.

"Axel wait!" Rikku takes a step after the red-head. But he ignores her and keeps walking. She looks down at the floor miserably. "Stay…" She mumbles quietly, barely enough for Demyx to hear.

"Rikku…" He looks at the dejected girl sympathetically. He reluctantly puts a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

She lets out a heavy sigh. "He's so difficult isn't he?" She chuckles dryly. "It's just _so_ _hard_ to get close to him…"

Demyx rushes to explain, "That's because—"

"It's alright! Don't worry Demmy!" Rikku suddenly stretches her arms in the air, and then grinning brightly at Demyx. "I'm not giving up yet! Not when you've got my back and still cheering me on!"

He grins back slowly and nods, giving her the thumbs up. "Y-You got that right! That's the spirit! Fight on!"

_Meanwhile, with Kairi and Naminé at the lockers…_

"Your dad didn't see it right? That's a relief," Kairi lets out a small sigh while getting out her books from her locker.

Naminé nods, sharing her relief. "Tifa helped me hide it with make up."

"She knows?" Kairi giggles before asking quietly, "Does she know who gave it to you too?"

Naminé nods shyly, blushing. "I needed her help. Because if my dad finds out the truth about it…"

Sora appears randomly between them Yuffie-style all of a sudden, leaning back casually on the locker.

The girls tense, startled. "S-Sora!" They exclaim panicky at the same time.

"Man, if he does find out… Kairi would be dead," Sora shakes his head at the thought. "No, scratch that, she'd be worse than dead. Thank God he likes you though." He says, turning his head to face the red-head. And then looking back ahead, his expression becomes grim. "If it were me who gave her that hickey…" His expression becomes grimmer. "…I don't even want to think about it."

The girls chuckle nervously while exchanging a look, sweat-dropping.

_The bell rings suddenly._

"Hey, don't you two have the same class? You should go together," Kairi tells them, smiling.

"What about you?" Sora asks curiously.

"We can walk you to your class…" Naminé adds hopefully, too nervous to be alone with Sora.

Kairi senses this, her smile stretching mischievously. "Oh no, go ahead. I'm going to wait for Riku. He's awfully late today…"

"Okay, see ya!"

On their way to class, a Sora fangirl appears randomly and tags along. "Hey Sora! Remember me? You kissed me at the party!"

Sora blinks at her confusedly. "I… did? I don't remember… Maybe you were dreaming?" He says, sweat-dropping.

"You did! You totally did!" She insists, pouting cutely. "I heard you even kissed _her_ too," she gives a tense Naminé a look of contempt.

Sora's eyes widen dramatically. "N-Naminé? _I_ kissed Naminé?"

"Uh-huh!"

He freezes, as if having an epiphany, his memory coming back to him. Beside him, Naminé is sneaking away to class carefully, leaving and the confused fangirl alone in the hallway.

"It was me…" He mutters softly under his breath, wide-eyed. "It was me!" He exclaims again, a small smile forming, relieved that it wasn't another guy or Kairi.

Then, he thinks of Cloud. And the fate worse than death.

He freezes again, his face ashen. "Oh no it was **_me_**!"

_Meanwhile with Kairi…_

Finally, the silver-head shows up, fifteen minutes late to class.

Kairi notices his tired looking eyes, frowning sympathetically. "Riku… you look like a mess."

He looks up at her general direction emotionlessly, "Hn…"

"You didn't sleep last night at all did you?"

"…"

She lets out a sigh and then smiles gently, her hands behind her back. "You love her don't you?" She states softly.

Suddenly, Riku sighs heavily, slamming his back against a locker. "I messed up. Yuffie seriously hates me."

Kairi puts a caring hand on his shoulder. "There, there… She doesn't hate you. I'm sure she doesn't…"

"My old man wants me to move in with him after this semester," Riku announces suddenly out of the blue, sighing.

"WHAT?" Kairi exclaims, appalled. "B-But he lives back in Destiny Islands…"

"Yeah…"

"That means…"

"Yeah…" he sighs again depressingly.

"What about us? What about _Yuffie_?"

Riku scoffs bitterly, looking away. "Like she'd even care. She'll rejoice when she hears about this, I'm sure."

"Riku… don't go! Sora will be so depressed…"

Riku sweat-drops, "Don't tell that idiot… not yet. I don't want to deal with his waterworks."

"And what about… Yuffie?" She asks quietly. "You will tell her right?"

_Silence._

He gets off the locker and leaves silently to class. Kairi watches him go with a sad frown. _Riku… Don't leave us…_

_In Sora's and Naminé's class…_

"Substitute teacher? Again? Oh maan…" Tidus groans.

"Be quiet," Saix, in his calm persona, glares at him quietly. "These revision sessions are important for your exam tomorrow. I advise you to pay very close attention."

"Psst! Tidus! Don't rile him up! Some of us want to live okay?" Rikku hisses at him quietly.

"Rikku's right! The one who bites the bullet is always me!" Demyx adds in a whisper, pouting.

Naminé sweat-drops, and then looks to her side at Sora's empty seat and blushes. _'Great… Now he found it. How am I going to face him for the rest of the day?'_

"DEMYX!" Saix exclaims suddenly, whirling away from the board, terrifying the entire class and startling Naminé out of her thoughts. "I HEARD YOU SPEAK! AND DON'T DARE LIE AND BLAME IT ON SOME KIND OF BUG THIS TIME—"

Suddenly, the door busts open, and a certain red-head barges in. Everyone turns their head to him.

"Axel!" Rikku exclaims happily, beaming.

"Yo!" Axel salutes with a wave of his hand, smirking devilishly.

"Ax! I knew you'd come!" Demyx sighs out with relief as his friend takes his usual seat next to him, and in front of Rikku's.

The red-head leans back casually, throwing his head back. He notices an upside down Rikku beaming at him.

"I'm so happy you stayed after all!" She exclaims with a bright grin.

"…" He watches her blankly.

Rikku touches her face worriedly. "What? Is there something on my face?"

He shakes his head casually, "No, your face's fine babe." And then pulls himself up and sits normally. He looks to his right at Demyx to find him grinning at him teasingly.

"What are you looking at?" Axel snaps at him irritatedly.

The blonde shakes his head, his grin stretching.

"EXCUSE ME; HAVE YOU FORGOTTON YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF CLASS? _MY_ CLASS?" Saix suddenly appears hovering over Axel, his arms crossed, a menacing look on his face. "HOW DARE YOU STROLL IN HERE, LATE, DISTURBING MY CLASS AND DISTRACTING MY STUDENTS? NOT TO MENTION, WASTING OUR **VALUABLE TIME**!"

"Hop to it then, start teaching, giving random detentions or whatever. You have," Axel casually checks his watch. "Approximately 40 minutes left." He scowls suddenly. "Dangit, I'm only 20 minutes late…" The class stifles a snicker.

"I have decided…" Saix says calmly all of a sudden. "This class will have a new policy for lateness. Any late student from now on will go straight to detention."

Right then, Sora walks into the class casually, oblivious to what's going on. He stops at the head of the class and blinks confusedly at everyone staring at him, "What?" Naminé sweat-drops, feeling sorry for him, along with most of the class.

"Detention."

"What the? I didn't even make it to my seat!"

"It's the new lateness policy."

"But it's only been—"

"You're still late."

"B-But—"

"**DETENTIIIOOON**!"

_Two weeks later…_

Ever since learning the truth about the hickey, Sora has been avoiding Naminé. Both of them too embarrassed to face each other. And with everyone busy studying for the exams, nobody other than Kairi has learned about the news of Riku's father wanting him to move in with him yet.

It's morning in Twilight High; the results of the exams have been released. Students are anxiously checking the board, looking for their names.

Yuffie finds Riku leaning against a locker, watching the crowd in front the board coolly.

"Prick!" She rushes toward him. "Where the hell have you been the last few days? I haven't seen you since the party, and you're my neighbor!"

He turns his head to her quietly. "Sorry I was studying. What is it? Do you need something?"

"Yeah, actually…" she tells him sheepishly while staring down at her feet, immediately spiking his curiosity. "Um… there's a female basketball team forming, and I've just signed up for the tryouts…"

"Cool. I'm happy for you," he tells her genuinely.

"…and I'm hoping… if it's alright with you… to practice basketball with me some time…"

He blinks at her slowly, surprised. "Why me? Why not Sora?" _You can't stand me…_

"Because you're the best!" She blurts out impulsively and immediately blushes, scratching the back of her head nervously. "I mean… I really like your style, and, um… Stuff."

He smiles slowly, feeling arrogant, happy that at least Yuffie appreciates him for something. "Sure. When are the tryouts?"

"Don't worry Prick, we have a lot of time!" she tells him confidently, grinning. "They won't start until the second semester!"

"…"

She blinks confusedly at the sudden gloominess in his expression. "What is it Prick?"

He shakes his head quickly. "Nothing." He smirks devilishly all of a sudden, alarming the black-head. "What do I get in exchange?"

"Uhh… two weeks without me pulling a prank on you?" She offers, chuckling nervously as he comes closer and leans in to whisper in her ear.

"How about a date?"

_Silence._

She throws her head back and starts laughing out loud suddenly. "Me? Go out with _you_? Yeah right. You're funny Prick… If you think I'd go out with my _enemy_…The day I got out with you is the day… let's say, Demyx gets the top mark in our exams!"

Right then, a random dude announces to the hallway, "DEMYX GOT IN TOP! HE BEAT Z-SOMETHING DUDE…or Dudette... WHATEVER! HE GOT FIRST PLACE!"

Everyone stops what they're doing and gasps dramatically.

"IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD I TELL YOU!" Pence exclaims, clutching his head.

Meanwhile, Riku is slowly starting to smirk from ear to ear, the devil's glint in his eyes.

"I TAKE IT BACK!" Yuffie immediately exclaims, panicking.

Riku withdraws, smirking confidently as he turns to leave. "Date on Friday… pick you up at 7."

"NO! I TOOK IT BACK! I'M NOT GOING! YOU'LL BE STOOD UP! I'M WARNING YOU PRICK! I'M _WARNING_ YOU!"

Riku is laughing heartily while he's walking away.

After he's left, Yuffie growls, her expression dark, "**_DEMYX_** GOT IN TOP? WHAT THE HELL DEMYX? I'M GONNA **_KILL_** YOU!"

Meanwhile, Zexion is staring at the board, more specifically, at his name next to: Second Place. He falls on his knees, lifeless. "My reason in life… shattered!"

Everyone looks at him, finally noticing him, and sweat-drop.

"Who?" Zexion asks himself numbly. "Who is this genius that surpassed me? Who is that great person that I must bow before for their brilliance?"

He looks up at the name: _Demyx_.

His eyes bulge out at the name. "YOU?" He screeches. "_YOU_ are the epitome of brilliance? Preposterous! My senses must be deceiving me! What is this… I don't even… How… just… _how_?"

His female teacher appears beside him and puts a comforting hand on his back. "It's alright Zexion dear. You've only lost to him by one mark, since you forgot to answer the 5th question in your Biology test." She hands him the paper.

"ONE… mark?" He nearly sobs while looking at it. "I can never forgive myself. Question five; you were the fall of me. Damn you! Damn you! Damn youuu! How could I not see you? You purposely hid from me didn't you? You are evil!" He pokes at his paper.

Random Guy sweat-drops, "Great… Now he's talking to his paper. Poor guy."

His Teacher sweat-drops. "Zexion, dear, if you want… I can give you an extra mark for your good behavior in class—"

Zexion raises a hand instantly. "No!"

"O-Oh dear!" The teacher flinches, startled.

He glares sideways at her. "Don't insult me with your pity!"

Meanwhile nearby, Tidus turns to his partner Wakka, "First, Yuffie asked Riku to coach her… and now Demyx is a genius? What in the world is happening?"

Pence gasps, popping up between them, "THEY ARE POSSESSED BY ALIENS!"

Rai gasps too, "I KNEW IT Y'KNOW? ALIENS EXIST Y'KNOW? THOSE THINGS I SAW BACK THERE WEREN'T FLYING FRISBEES _Y'KNOW_? THEY WERE RED UFOs **_Y'KNOW_**?"

"Fools," Fuu says simply.

"Yeah," Seifer glares at Rai. "Shut the fuck up Rai. You're annoying."

Maleficent randomly appears, scowling at Seifer, "FOUL WORD! COMING FROM MOUTH OF THE DEVIL! COME WITH ME TO DETENTION! I SHALL PURIFY YOUR SOUL FROM THE EVIL SATANIC TOUCH!

Seifer sighs, "Why did my suspension end?"

Suddenly, Fuu stands in Maleficent's way, defending Seifer.

"What is it child?" Maleficent questions curiously.

"No." Fuu says simply.

They have a mini glaring competition.

"Alright," Maleficent shrugs eventually, and leaves.

Seifer's and Rai's jaws drop in awe.

"No?" Seifer blinks confusedly. "That all you have to say to that witch to get her to fuck off? Fuu, you're a lifesaver!" He wraps an arm around her neck, ruffling her hair as if she's one of his guy friends.

Fuu blushes at his closeness, "W-Welcome."

Rai sighs in the background, "I'm lonely… y'know?"

Meanwhile, Axel turns from Seifer's group to Demyx and Roxas, "Did you hear that guy… You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

Demyx blinks dumbly. "Justin Bieber?"

"Hell no!" Axel retorts in disgust. "I'm thinkin' 'red flying UFOs' are the chakrams, and I'm betting that kid is number one on their list…anyway—"

"Oh my God! The chakrams are aliens? They're going to abduct Justin and interrogate him until he tells them how he took over the world?"

Roxas sweat-drops.

"No," Axel replies patiently. "They're just fag exterminators, got it memorized? And anyway, the chakrams here… that means…."

"…We should call JB and warn him?"

"No you moron! That means they have a target here! An unfinished business!"

"Who?" Demyx asks dumbly.

"YOU! …and other fags. Roxy, for example," he turns to the shorter blonde casually. "You should watch your back Roxy."

Roxas fumes, "I'M NOT GAY!" He snaps at the red-head.

"Hey guys!" Rikku runs toward them excitedly, beaming at Axel and Demyx. "Congratulations! Both of you have passed! I'm sooo happy for you!"

"Thanks!" Demyx grins back cheerfully.

Rikku then looks at Axel hopefully. "I'm glad you took the exams this time around, Axel. 7th place huh? Amazing! You two can really be something when you try!" She giggles.

"I wonder what you made you take them…" Roxas says curiously, and then sweat-drops. "You even got a better mark than me… how is that possible?"

Axel smirks, "Because we're awesome like that." They chuckle lightly.

"U-Um… Axel?"

They stop laughing and turn to find Selphie.

"It?" Axel raises a suspicious eyebrow. "What do you want?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" She asks nervously while avoiding contact, making everyone blink curiously.

_Inside an empty classroom…_

"Come again?"

"I-I said…" Selphie repeats, blushing madly while staring at him square in the eyes. "I've fallen in love with you!"

"…" He is staring at her blankly.

"I realized… what you said about Demyx is true. He was just pretending to date me. A-And when you saved me from the boomerangs…I realized that I was wrong about you. I realized that you're actually a good guy… and that I'm in love with you!"

"…"

"I know you find me annoying… but I don't care! I love you! I'm desperate!" She steps closer, pursing her lips to kiss him.

He starts stepping back in horror, colliding with desks and stumbling few times. "No… Oh God no… Oh hell no… FUCK! Why me?" He almost whines. "I know I'm hot but I'm not… _designed_ for relationships! It, do you hear me? Stay the fuck away from me!" He grabs her by both her arms when she traps him against the wall and pushes her away at distance to glare at her threateningly. "I mean it, it! I could burn you if you try anything!"

"What if I'm not looking for a relationship?" She blinks at him 'innocently'. "What if I just want to… _play_?"

He winces with disgust. "I'd rather do Sora. Scratch that, I'd rather do Principal Ansem… and he's a guy AND an old geez—"

She catches him off-guard, thrusts forward and kisses him.

At this precise moment, Rikku enters and sees them kissing, with Axel's hands on Selphie's shoulders, and needless to say, immediately misunderstands.

She gasps, "Axel! How could you!"

Axel pushes Selphie away, wiping his mouth with his sleeve with a disgusted expression.

"To Demyx? Your childhood friend who cares about you and trusts you _so much_? How could you!" Rikku screams, tears coming down her face. "You're horrible!" With that, she turns around and runs off crying.

Axel looks up and glares at Selphie darkly. "If you try that again… I'll seriously burn you."

"I will fight for you Axel!" Selphie exclaims stubbornly before walking out of the classroom.

Axel runs a hand through his hair, sighing, "What a fucking fabulous day…"


	31. Sora's Brilliant Epiphany

Chapter 31:

_Friday Morning at Twilight High…_

The bell rings, signaling the end of their period. Sora picks up his book, and as he passes by Mrs. Maleficent's desk to leave the classroom, she stops him by calling his name.

"Sora Leonhart! Your grades are simply disgraceful."

Sora shrugs, chuckling nervously as he turns to her. "Hey, at least I passed!"

"An entire list of Ds is hardly something to be proud of. Even Demyx got a better mark than you… somehow." She glares suspiciously at Demyx as he's about to leave the class too. "Satan's Friend! _Confess_!"

Demyx stops, blinking dumbly at his teacher. "Huh? C-Confess what?"

"That you have cheated in your exams, you vile creature!"

"Oh no, I didn't cheat…" He tells her honestly. "I attended all of the revision sessions and Rikku even helped me—"

"AHA! THAT WRETCHED SLUT HELPED YOU CHEAT!"

Sora sweat-drops while Demyx pouts at his teacher, "Hey… don't call Rikku a slut… that's not very nice…"

"A CHEATER AND A LIAR! IS THERE NO END TO YOUR SINS? YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF! WHY CAN'T YOU BE A LITTLE LIKE FRED?"

"But I swear… I didn't cheat! I actually studied—"

"There was no way he cheated." Someone says from the doorway. They turn their heads to find Saix coming toward them, a grim look on his face, his arms crossed in front of him. "I personally supervised over all the exam sessions and inspected each student who came in from head to toe. There was absolutely no way someone could have cheated on _my_ watch."

"Uhh… Maybe he's telling the truth then? He actually prepared for them?" Sora sweat-drops and Demyx nods vehemently at that.

"I thought about this enigma carefully," Saix nods thoughtfully, pacing a bit in front of Maleficent's desk. "And I've finally come to a conclusion:" He stops and glares grimly at the uneasy blonde. "He must have stolen the tests somehow."

Maleficent gasps dramatically, "A cheater, a liar, AND a thief? Ohh…._Ohhh_! Such vile creature!" She pretends to swoon, a hand over her head.

Saix takes poor Demyx by his arm and drags him with him out of the class, "You're coming with me to the principal's office."

"BUT I'M INNOCENT! I NEVER CHEATED OR STOLE TESTS!" _That was Axel!_

"**YOU LIIIIE**!"

Sora sweat-drops at them, feeling sorry for Demyx.

"As for you, Sora Leonhart," Maleficent brings his attention back to her suddenly. "I have made up my mind: you're going to have to attend Naminé Strife's after school lessons again, starting next week, and until the last day of the semester!"

"Okay," Sora immediately replies, shrugging.

Then, Maleficent glares at Seifer, trying to make a sneaky escape, as if predicting what she's going to say, "And you too, _Devil's Spawn_. You will attend the after school lessons from now on as well!"

"_FUCK_!" Seifer kicks the floor angrily. He almost made it out the door.

"And a detention!"

"_FUUUCK_!"

_Meanwhile at the Principal's Office…_

After a hard day of work, Principal Ansem finally has a time for himself. Eagerly, he places his lunch box on his office desk, practically drooling at it when suddenly; someone ruins the mood by barging into his office unannounced.

"Yo!"

The principal sighs miserably without even looking up; he knows who the intruder is. He has years of experience with him, after all.

"_Axel Akuma_…" Ansem says the name in anguish, slowly looking up to look at the red-head as he strolls toward his desk and coolly sits on the edge of it. "What in the Devil's name—"

"Can I have your apple?" Axel asks in a casual manner while looking down at his principal's lunch box curiously. He doesn't wait for an answer, casually grabbing his apple and taking a bite. "So, how's life?"

The principal sighs, "An ongoing nightmare with you in it…"

"Aww," Axel feigns hurt. "Why does no one genuinely appreciates me? I really like you old man." He smirks devilishly.

The principal cringes a bit at the sight of his smirk. "You have never changed…" Then he lets out a sigh of relief, remembering something, and starts to smile. "Ah, I saw your results. Apparently you and your friend have both passed your exams." He's smiling from ear to ear now. "I was extremely elated that I even thanked my Lord. I still do, actually. It was simply a miracle; my prayers are finally being answered! Hopefully, you two will graduate before I reach my retirement and become an old man…"

"Dude, you're already an old man."

"Sh-Shut up! I am still quite young!"

"Ah, I see, touchy subject, moving on…" Casually, the red-head steals the principal's juice box and starts drinking it. "So anyway, I should tell you about my day..."

"Believe me, I don't care—"

"—It was horrible man," Axel is shaking his head, taking another sip.

The older man is slightly interested in the red-head's distress. He glares at Axel in annoyance quietly, waiting for him to finish so he can have his lunch in peace.

"I got kissed by 'it' a few days ago ya see… Talk about a living nightmare. Good thing I closed my mouth on time though. Last thing I want is 'it' french kissing me…" He shudders a bit in disgust. "I used every brand of mouthwash I could find. Hell, I was gonna wash my mouth with Dettol too, but then someone told me it's poisonous so I didn't. Close call huh? Anyway, now the menace is literally stalking me. The thing knows the address to my apartment man…Do you want the sandwich too? No?" He takes it, careless to Ansem's threatening glare.

While eating his sandwich, Axel asks casually, "Hey old man, are you married? Do you have a girlfriend or something?"

The principal sighs wearily, "Yes, I am happily married and in love. Would you mind leaving my office already? I want to have my lunch in peace."

Axel groans, ignoring his last sentence. "You too? Can't believe this… Everyone's in love these days man…It's like love is out to get us you know?" He pauses and shakes his head. "Love stinks. It only makes fools out of you." He says sagely while coolly taking another bite of the sandwich.

Slowly, the principal raises an eyebrow incredulously at him, wide-eyed in utter surprise, "Are you implying you are in love? Goodness me… now this is an extremely shocking and unexpected surprise…" He leans in, smiling teasingly at the red-head. "The demon's in love."

Axel scoffs, finishing up the sandwich and licking his fingers, to Ansem's irritation. "The great _Axel,_ in love? Are you fucking kidding me? Hell no… It goes completely against my ideology."

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door, and a blue haired woman comes in, followed by a seemingly male student in a male's school uniform, and the school nurse, Tifa Lockhart.

"I'm in love." Axel says immediately while staring in awe at the blue-haired woman's nicely developed breasts, making Tifa shake her head, trying to suppress a smile.

"And I'm happily married and in love with my husband Terra," says the blue-haired woman with a small, amused smile. Then she looks back at the principal professionally before adding, "Sir, we have a problem with this student." She refers to the student standing behind her.

Meanwhile, Axel is sighing disappointedly, "Great, Teef's got a BF, you – and somehow _him_ –," He motions at their principal. "Are married… Oh man, it's really out to get us huh? I better watch out."

They blink confusedly at him before simply ignoring him and returning to the important issue at hand. "Xion again huh?" The principal lets out a big, weary sigh.

Axel's eyes widen a bit in surprise. "_Xion_?" He swiftly turns his head to look at the student behind the blue-haired woman and instantly recognizes her face. "Xion, why are you dressed as a dude?" He asks bluntly.

Xion is startled when she notices Axel, her eyes widening in shock. "A-Axel…" She says nervously.

"She's cross-dressing again," Tifa informs their principal with a sigh, and then looks between Axel and Xion curiously. "Do you know her?" She asks the red-head.

"Yeah," Axel nods, shrugging. "She's an old friend." He looks back at Xion suspiciously. "Since when were you here? I know all the students in this school; it's weird that I haven't heard anything about you yet…"

She lowers her head guiltily, frowning. "I'm sorry… But I made sure of that…"

"Why?" Axel raises an eyebrow curiously. "Your boyfriend's here too. But I'm sure you already know that…" He narrows his eyes at her suspiciously.

"As the student guidance counselor, I've tried my best to help her…" the blue-haired woman suddenly interrupts them. "But it's been more than two weeks already and she's still refusing to cooperate…"

The principal sighs, "Xion… what do you want me to do with you? Sometimes you're a perfect student, obediently following the school rules, properly dressed in the female uniform designed for you, and other times you suddenly start behaving like a rebel, completely out of control... I can't seem to be able to figure you out. What is the problem? Tell Mrs. Aqua so she can help you with this identity crisis of yours!"

"I do NOT have an identity crisis!" Xion snaps suddenly, surprising everyone in the room.

"Then why do you keep cross-dressing and behaving like a male sometimes?" Tifa asks gently.

"If you have a problem with your gender, we can help you," Aqua adds just as gently, putting a supportive hand on Xion's shoulder.

Xion lowers her head, refusing to say a word. She is surprised, however, to feel Axel's hand on her other shoulder. "S'okay Xion, I can vouch for Teef. And New Hot Guidance Counselor seems trustworthy enough…"

Involuntarily, a giggle escapes Xion. "You haven't changed Ax…"

"Yeah, that's better… Now look up and tell'em what they want to hear so we can get outta here," he smirks devilishly as the others sweat-drop.

"You really haven't changed…" She giggles, looking up and smiling at her old time friend. "Both you and Dem. I'm glad."

He blinks in surprise. "You saw Dem? Why did that moron never tell me…"

"It's not his fault," she says immediately. "I made him promise not to mention me."

"What's the problem Shrimp?" He urges her softly. "Why are you avoiding us?"

"I just… don't want Roxas to see me…" She replies quietly, frowning at the floor.

"Why?" He squeezes her shoulder gently, pressing her to continue.

"I have a problem Ax!" She looks up at him painfully all of a sudden, her voice cracking. "There's something wrong with me and it hurt Roxas before… I don't want to hurt him again!"

"_What_ is wrong with you?"

"I can't tell you Ax… I can't tell anyone… It's too embarrassing…" She looks down further, blushing embarrassedly a bit.

"You _can_ tell us. We're friends, and all the people in this room just want to help, they're not here to judge you Xion…" He assures her, surprising Tifa and Ansem with the mature way he's handling this.

"…"

"Xion."

"I'm a hermaphrodite!" She blurts out abruptly, blushing profusely from embarrassment.

_Silence._

"I see," Tifa is nodding sympathetically. "Oh, honey…"

"Herma… what?" Axel raises a confused eyebrow.

"Can you explain it to us Mrs. Lockhart?" The principal asks the black-haired nurse with a confused look.

"A hermaphrodite is a person who is born having both um, male and female characteristics," Tifa explains. "It's rare, but it happens. Sometimes the person suffers a traumatic Gender Identity Disorder when they reach pubescence. And usually, they undergo a sex determining operation at some point in their lives."

_Another awkward silence._

"Oh," the red-head mouths inaudibly, clearly very intrigued. Xion blushes further out of embarrassment, her head lowering further.

"Sweetie," Aqua rubs Xion's shoulder caringly, smiling. "You should have told us earlier. We'd have been more understanding."

"Don't be embarrassed," Tifa assures Xion softly with a kind smile. "We promise that your secret won't escape this room. It'll be just between us."

"Yep," Axel nods, smirking. "My lips are sealed." He shrugs. "Besides, being a herm…whatever doesn't sound like a completely bad thing. I mean, doesn't that mean you have both a penis and a vagina? That's wicked _awesome_!"

"A-Akuma!" The principal immediately scolds him, blushing a bit.

"It does not literally work that way Axel," Tifa sighs, sweat-dropping. "It's complicated."

"Wait a minute…" Axel studies Xion curiously all of a sudden. "Is that the reason you won't see Roxy? Because you can't figure out if you're a dude or a dudette?"

"We broke up because of that," she tells him quietly, nodding.

His eyes widen in surprise. "Hold on a sec… _you_ _broke up_? And Roxy already _knows_?" _Huh_, _no wonder he's so sensitive about the gay issue…_He smirks inwardly.

She nods, frowning still. "I told him about my condition after we started dating…"

"Did he break up with you because of—?" Aqua begins, feeling for the younger girl, but gets interrupted by Xion.

"No! He didn't break with me!" She looks down again with a sad frown. "I was the one who broke up with him."

"Why?" Tifa asks gently. "I know Roxas. He's Sora Leonhart's cousin. He's a good kid."

"I did it because ever since I'd told him, he started acting weird around me, distant…. He couldn't accept me. I knew that because I saw it all over his face!" Her voice starts cracking again. "I was… _afraid_ of this kind of reaction. I was terrified that he'd find me disgusting. So I thought, before he'd break up with me, I'll be the one to break up with him…" A single tear slides down her cheek.

Suddenly, she's surprised to feel Axel's hand on top of her head. He yanks it to back so the shorter girl would look up at him eye-to-eye.

"Ax…" She blinks up at him in surprise, wide and teary eyed.

"You moron…" He tells her softly, smirking. "Look at me. Whatever you, Dem and Roxy are… I don't give a fuck. Because we're friends. We're supposed to accept each other for who we are."

"Axel…" She sniffs, touched, her tears running down freely now.

"Roxy would have accepted you eventually. Because that other moron's crazy about you. Besides, it was normal for him to freak out a bit y'know… after learning that his girlfriend could potentially be a male. That'd have fucked up most dudes. But in the end, if he really cared about you, he'd have accepted you. And trust me, Roxy totally would have."

Abruptly, Xion throws her arms around the taller red-head, catching him off-guard. "Thank you!"

"Whoa…" He looks down at her uneasily as she cries against him. "Awkward…" He sweat-drops, tense. "Not a hugging type of person…"

Xion giggles against him while Aqua and Tifa smile warmly at them.

"Way to go, Demon," Ansem says sarcastically while looking at Axel. "You have proved yourself useful."

Xion pulls back from her friend and smiles up at him gratefully, "Thank you Axel… I feel a whole lot better." She grins.

He smiles back in spite of himself, and then pokes her forehead. "No problem Shrimp."

"Xion, promise me that from now on you will come to school in your female uniform, and I'll let this one slide," the principal says, smiling fatherly at the short gal.

"I promise," Xion says while turning to him, smiling innocently.

"Alright, that settles it," Ansem nods, pleased. "You may all leave. I would like to have my lunch now."

"Well then excuse us," Aqua smiles sweetly at everyone before leaving.

"Take care of her," Tifa asks Axel with a friendly smile before leaving as well.

He smirks back at Tifa devilishly. "No worries, love. _She's in safe hands_."

The principal sweat-drops in the background. "Oh dear Lord…"

After everyone has finally left Principal Ansem's office, he turns his attention back eagerly to his lunch box. Only to find, with horror, that Axel has finished all of it. "Axeeellll!"

_Outside the Principal's office…_

Xion stops suddenly after they've left, and Axel looks back at her questioningly. "What's wrong?" He asks curiously with a raised eyebrow.

She lowers her head a bit sheepishly. "Thanks again… for accepting me. What you said back there… it meant a lot to me."

He sighs, and then walks back to her and pokes her head again. "Don't thank me. We're friends remember? You're gonna be with me and Dem from now on."

She nods happily, and they start walking again.

"So anyway…" He starts casually. "I'm wondering. What's it like to have sex with someone like your case." He glances at the area below her waist. "Do you have a—"

She sweat-drops, looking away and blushing a bit embarrassedly. "Axel. Please shut up."

He chuckles, smirking, "Yes ma'am."

She turns her head back a bit to face him, still blushing. "By the way, for your information, I'm completely a female now," she tells him quietly.

His eyes widen interestedly. "Oh? So you did the operation?"

"Yeah, right after I finished Middle school."

He scratches his head confusedly. "Wait a sec. Back there, you kinda implied that you're still a y'know, that word…"

He stops when she turns her head to him and smiles in a twisted way, surprising Axel, "Well you told me to tell them what they wanted to hear…" She says innocently, shrugging.

He blinks at her slowly a bit, surprised. And then slowly starts to smirk.

He bumps fists with her, both of them laughing. "Right on!" He cheers.

_Meanwhile, with Roxas, Kairi, Demyx and Naminé at the lockers area…_

"Hey Nami! Do you know where Sora is?" Kairi asks the blonde curiously. She hasn't seen the brunette all day. He has been purposely avoiding her for weeks now, knowing she'll likely be with Naminé. Too ashamed and embarrassed to face her after what'd he done to her.

Naminé shakes her head quickly. "N-No… he's been avoiding me ever since he figured it out… Even during class…." She lowers her head, frowning a bit.

"That idiot…" Kairi and Roxas say at the same time, sweat-dropping, and then glance at each other with surprise.

"Or maybe he's just busy…" Demyx suggests densely, shrugging. They sweat-drop at him.

"Are you talking about Sora?" Rikku passing by suddenly joins them.

"Hey Rikku," Demyx greets her cheerfully.

Rikku looks at Naminé with a mischievous grin, "I heard he's going to attend Naminé's after school lessons starting next week…"

"Really?" Kairi exclaims, turning to the blonde, who nods. "Great! Now that idiot won't be able to avoid you anymore!" She grins evilly.

"Good for you, huh Nami?" Rikku puts a hand on Naminé's shoulder, smiling friendly, making Naminé blush embarrassedly. "You're lucky you got Sora's attention. He's a really nice guy." She sighs and looks down sadly then. "Unlike _him_…" She says quietly under her breath.

"Axel?" Naminé questions softly, surprising Rikku, who is enthralled that the seemingly shy blonde is talking with her.

"Y-Yeah…" She sighs and looks down at the floor again.

"So Demyx," Kairi changes the topic suddenly, smiling brightly at him. "Congrats, I heard that you aced your exams. You even beat Zexion and Naminé and got First place, I'm impressed."

Roxas sweat-drops, "Back in the day he always got the worst marks…"

Demyx chuckles nervously, putting a hand behind his head, "Yeah, and Xion always used to get the top marks!"

_Silence._

"Who's Xion?" Kairi asks curiously, eying the two suspiciously.

"She's Roxas's girlfriend!" Demyx answers casually before thinking.

_Silence. _Rikku and Naminé sweat-drop as Roxas turns to Demyx slowly with one of his ultimate death glares.

"Oh…_OH_!" Demyx finally realizes his mistake, and then chuckles nervously again while looking at Roxas. "S-Sorry dude…"

"U-Um Demmy… would you mind walking out the school together?" Rikku asks nervously, sensing the sudden awkwardness in the air.

"N-No, not at all! Let's go! Maybe we'll see Fred on the way too!" Demyx quickly replies, hurriedly walking off with Rikku, followed by Roxas's deathly glare until he's out of sight.

"Umm… I have to go home early; my dad is waiting for me!" Naminé quickly says, smiling nervously before following the other two.

Meanwhile, Kairi is staring silently at Roxas. She crosses her arms in front of her once they're alone and asks quietly, "You have a girlfriend and you never bothered to tell me?"

Roxas sighs, wishing that he, too, can forge an excuse to leave after them, but he knows that he won't escape Kairi's interrogation no matter what, so he may as well face it now and be done with it.

"… Is she the person Sora and I keep reminding you of?"

He looks at her, his widening a bit in awe, "Wow, you're sharp…"

"So what's her deal? Tell me about her!" The red-head demands impatiently, her hands now on her hips.

Roxas looks away uneasy, "We used to date back in Middle school, but then we broke up and I moved away... See you later." He tells her and then makes quick steps after the others, ignoring her as she yells after him.

"HEY! COME BACK HERE AND ANSWER MY QUESITONS!"

_Meanwhile, with Sora and Riku at the Gym…_

Riku and Sora are resting on one of the benches after basketball practice.

"You're pathetic. It's been almost two weeks and you're still avoiding Naminé. Don't you miss her or something?" The silver-head scolds his friend.

Sora sighs, his shoulders slumping. "I can't forgive myself for what I tried to do to her…" He covers his blushing face with his hands at the memory. "I still can't forget it! The memory is still vivid in my head! ARGH IT'S TORTURE!"

Riku shakes his head at him, suppressing a smile, "Stop acting like a freaking saint and man up… You're a guy, it's normal to—"

"I _know_ that," Sora replies frustratedly. "But I kind of forced myself on her; I must have freaked her out…" He sighs miserably, burying his face into his hands. "She must hate me now… worse; she may even be disgusted by me too…"

Riku watches him quietly, and then lets a weary sigh, "You're hopeless. How would you even be able to manage without me?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing, let's get in the showers."

On their way to the boys' locker, Random Girl enthusiastically stops Sora. "Hey Sora! Have you heard the rumors going around about Naminé's crush?"

Sora's eyes widen in shock. "Y-You mean… Na-Naminé already likes someone?" He exclaims with a heartbroken expression.

At that, Riku rolls his eyes, mutters 'hopeless' and goes on ahead without the brunette.

"I knew you'd be interested!" The Random Girl smirks smugly, oblivious to the fact that Sora is oblivious that the person is him. "Listen, _they say_… His name starts with the letter 'S'!" She tells him excitedly, and then leans in and whispers, "Fred even saw her doodle that letter next to 'N' during Art class with his own eyes! Good luck Sora!" She giggles, running off, poor girl proud of herself, thinking Sora will figure it out immediately.

"Starts with an 'S', huh…." He touches his chin, thinking deeply to himself.

"I'll give you a hint…" Zexion next to him murmurs quietly. "The guy Naminé likes… he's someone who shared a Maleficent detention with her once…" And then he disappears, like usual.

Sora continues his way walking toward the boys' locker, a deeply thoughtful expression on his face. "Maleficient's detention, huh… There was only—"

"Sora!" Selphie comes running toward him excitedly. "I heard that the person Naminé likes is someone who attends her after school lessons!" She winks playfully. "Good luck!" Then she spots Axel passing by alone just outside the gym. "AXEEEL!" She squeals and skips toward him with heart-shaped eyes.

He cringes when he sees her.

"I MADE YOU SOME COOKIES!" She shows a box of freshly baked cookies shaped as Axel's head.

"Fuck your cookies! Leave me the hell ALOONE!" He snaps, shaking his fist at her before turning and speed-walking in attempt to lose her.

Sora sweat-drops, and then enters the boys' locker, still thinking about the subject of Naminé's crush.

Later after he's taken off shirt, sitting on the bench in front of his locker in deep thought.

"Hey Sor," Seifer sitting opposite off him snaps the brunette off his thoughts. "What do you say we both ditch the after school lesson next week. We're the only ones who have to go to them so if we both do that, they're bound to cancel these stupid lessons."

Sora doesn't look at him, suddenly experiencing an epiphany. _'Starts with the letter S… shared a Maleficent detention… attends after school lessons… could it be…' _His eyes widen hopefully.

"Hey shorty! What the hell's your problem?" Seifer asks impatiently, frowning.

"He's talking to you y'know?" Rai scowls beside him as well.

"Tch," Seifer looks away irritatedly. "Whatever…"

Sora looks up at Seifer slowly, studying his physique carefully. _'The person Naminé likes….could it be… **Seifer**?'_ Instant despair. _'I don't stand a chance against a guy like that!'_ He thinks miserably while checking out Seifer's good build and muscles from where he's sitting.

Meanwhile, Seifer notices Sora checking him out with the corner of his eye and tenses, immediately weirded out. _'Is Sora checking me out? What the fuck…' _He shudders mentally.

"I'm scrawny compared to you…" The brunette complains out loud bitterly while pouting at Seifer. "It's not fair…"

Seifer relaxes at last, and laughs, sneering at him. He lifts up a muscled arm. "'Fraid I'd steal Naminé from you? Haha…" He jokes, chuckling as he picks up his towel and heads for the showers.

Sora, meanwhile, freezes in horror. _'He admitted iittt! I must find out somehow if there's something going on between them! If it is really the case…' _His head slumps down miserably_. 'I really stand no chance…' _

_After school, evening, at Yuffie's house…_

Yuffie is looking out her bedroom's window, watching Riku's room. The curtains are closed, but the lights are turned on. _So he must be there…_

She looks behind her up at the clock hanging on the wall. _6:54 PM_. Riku should be coming over any minute now.

As she looks back out her window, she sees the lights in Riku's room turn off. "Shit… Prick really is coming to take me out on a date…" She mutters to herself somewhat in disbelief.

Sure enough, a minute or so later, Riku is seen exiting his house.

She stands up immediately, stepping away from the window slowly. "What the hell am I going to doo? I'm not even dressed!"

She starts panicking, and so decides to call Kairi with her cell phone while hiding behind her door, for some reason.

"Kairi! Help! Prick's coming to take me out on a date!" She hisses quietly as soon as the red-head picks up.

"Oh my God!"

"I _know_! I was hoping he'd forget about it if I didn't mention it! This is just terrible!"

"This is fantastic!" The red-head giggles happily. "About _time_! Congrats you guys!"

"…" Yuffie stares down at her cell phone skeptically before putting it back on her ear. "Kai. This is a frigging catastrophe. It's _Prick_, my arch enemy… and I'm not even dressed yet! I'M NOT READY!"

"Calm down! Go to your closet and pick a cute skirt!"

"I DON'T HAVE ANY SKIRTS!"

"It's okay! I'm sure Pri—I mean Riku won't mind! What's important is that you have fun and treasure the time you have with him. Who knows, one day—"

"KAI! NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE A DRAMA QUEEN! HELP ME OUT OF THIS CRISIS! THE PRICK IS FEW STEPS OUTSIDE MY FRIGGIN' HOUSE!"

"Okay, okay! Wear one of your shorts; make sure it's a sexy one though! And don't forget to wear some accessories… Remember the heart shape necklace I gave you for your birthday? Oh and this is important: Put on some make up!"

"BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY MAKE UP! I'M DOOOMED!"

"Calm down! It's okay. Forget make up. Just lip gloss is fine."

"I DON'T HAVE LIP GLOSS!"

"God, no wonder Riku mistook you for a guy! Do you AT LEAST have lip balm?"

"Yeah! Yeah I do!"

"Thank God, use that then! Remember, have fun and good luck!" _Click_.

"KAIRI! WAIT! NO! DO NOT ABANDON ME WOMAN!" She shouts at her cell phone.

Suddenly, Yuffie's door opens and her little eight years old brother Yuki steps in. "Hey Yuff… Riku is waiting for you downstairs. He said you two have a date. About time." He tells her casually.

"Wh-What do you mean 'about time'?" Yuffie snaps at him.

"Well it's obvious you two want each other."

She blushes profusely, "What do you know you're just a kid! Go watch Teletubbies or something!"

"That show is for babies…." He says tediously while sweat-dropping and closing the door behind him.

Later, Yuffie comes down the stairs, dressed in her typical shorts and a funky colorful T-shirt, to find Riku waiting for her below.

He's dressed casually, jacket, black vest underneath, jeans. Simple. Yet he still looks effin' _hot_; Yuffie has to admit mentally, pouting as she meets him at the last step.

"Why are you so pretty Prick? It's not fair…"

His eyes widen a bit, surprised, and then he chuckles, highly amused. "You don't look bad yourself." He smiles genuinely, making Yuffie blush a bit.

He looks down at her shorts, and smirks. "Typical Yuffie…"

"Hmph!" She turns her head away quickly with her hands on her hips, pouting. "Even if I wore a dress or a skirt, you'd probably still mistake me for a gay dude or something…"

He laughs out loud at that, catching Yuffie off-guard, who stares at him quietly, wide-eyed in awe. "Stop laughing Prick. I'm not used to you doing that, you're creeping me out…" She tells him, blushing a bit while walking ahead toward the front door to leave.

Riku is about to follow her outside, grinning.

Her little brother Yuki appears suddenly by the door. "Good luck!" He tells Riku quietly with a wink and a naughty grin. "I'm totally rooting for you man! I think you're _awesome_!"

Riku smiles back at her little brother a bit appreciatively. He's the spitting image of Yuffie, a mini male version. "Thanks, kid." He tells him quietly before walking out.

_Outside, walking down the sidewalk…_

"So what's the plan Prick? Where are we going?"

"Take a stroll around the town; maybe grab something to eat – a snack or something – later on the way…" He tells her casually with a slight shrug, staring ahead of them. "I just want to spend some time together alone…" _Before I…._

"Why?" She asks suspiciously with a frown, carefully narrowing her eyes at him.

Without even looking at her, he replies confidently with ease, "Because I like you." _Maybe even more than that…_

The softness and sincerity in his voice surprises the black-head. She blushes profusely, and looks away awkwardly. _What the hell is this… Prick is acting totally weird! He is making me nervous…_

Later, after almost an hour of strolling, they end up at the beach. Riku's favorite place. They sit on a random bench facing the beach and watch the scenery in front of them peacefully in silence.

"You know… I don't laugh much. But when I'm with you, it all seems so natural…"

Yuffie turns her head to him with a surprised expression, blushing a bit. He just watches her reaction silently, fascinated.

She squirms a bit under his stare and looks away nervously. "_Stop giving me that look_." She hisses out loud uncomfortably.

He smirks knowingly, looking away at the beach again.

_Awkward silence._

"Your flirting moves might work on other girls," she blurts out suddenly, blushing in spite of herself. "But they're not fooling me. You're full of shit."

Riku is still smirking in an infuriating and annoyingly knowing way ahead of them.

"Nothing about you is attractive to me anymore!" she adds, pouting in annoyance at his smirk. "Just the thought of doing anything with you makes me want to puke!" She crosses her legs and leans against the bench, closing her eyes in a huff.

"…" His smirk is replaced by a sad, gloomy frown that Yuffie doesn't see. He sighs to himself heavily.

A few minutes later, they take a walk by the beach barefoot, holding their shoes while letting the water touch their feet.

Yuffie curiously notices a bunch of kids playing not far in front of them, burying one of them in the sand, and enthusiastically turns to Riku next to her, "Hey prick! Let me bury you under the sand! It'll be fun! Come on!" She exclaims excitedly, eyes sparkling, an ulterior evil motive in her mind.

Riku knows her too well. "...And then you will leave me and watch me struggle while you laugh your ass off. Hell no."

"Damn! Great strategy #72, failed!" She curses quietly to herself, frowning disappointedly.

He laughs out loud, making her frown deeper uncomfortably again, "Y-You count them?"

They start walking again in silence until Yuffie spots an ice cream booth and hurries there excitedly, grinning.

Riku watches her practically skip there with a soft smile, his hands in his pockets. _'Even Yuffie has her cute moments…'_

Yuffie runs back to him in no time with her ice cream. He watches devour it, highly amused, and then notices some of it has somehow reached her nose.

He tries to stifle a laugh. Yuffie raises an eyebrow at her carefully, feeling uneasy again, "Stop laughing Prick, seriously. You're freaking me out…"

Without warning, Riku leans in and licks the ice cream bit on her nose off. She freezes, blushing so hard. "W-W-What the HELL Prick?" She practically yells, startling the people around them.

He leans back, smirking smugly at her reaction.

"Eww!" She hits his arm, still blushing. "That's disgusting!"

He chuckles, starting to walk again. "I was teasing you."

She stands where she is for a while, still feeling shaky over earlier, and frustrated to discover that her heart is beating very alarmingly in her chest. "Calm the fuck down!" She commands it in a quiet hiss, making the random people close to her eye her funny.

She stomps after Riku angrily, walking ahead on his own by the beach again, and kicks the water, splashing his back in an act of revenge. She smirks triumphantly when he suddenly stops and freezes for a while, his back still to her.

Then, abruptly, he turns around and starts splashing her back, catching the black-head completely off-guard.

She gasps, and then glares furiously at him, "Prick… THIS IS **_WAAR_**!"

They start splashing each other, both of them laughing, until he picks her up – she starts screaming and calling him names – and dumps her into the water.

She starts shaking furiously, wet from head to toe. Slowly she looks up at a laughing Riku, and then growls and tackles him down too, both of them wet, with her sitting on top of him triumphantly. "HA HA! SERVES YOU RIGHT PRICK!"

Riku is blushing hard at the position they're on, looking up at her with wide open aquamarine eyes.

She finally notices their situation and gets off him and up on her feet immediately, blushing embarrassedly. "P-Prick! I'm not laughing 'cause I'm having fun with you, I'm laughing _at you_! Geddit?"

He stands up on his feet as well, chuckling to himself. "Sure…" His cell phone starts ringing funny all of a sudden, damaged by the water.

"Oh no, prick, your cell phone's broken! I'm glad I forgot to bring mine with me…" She sighs a bit with relief.

Riku stares at it blankly for a while and then shocking Yuffie by abruptly throwing it away into the sea.

"What the hell! Your cell phone!" She exclaims in disbelief, wide-eyed.

"…"

She sweat-drops, "Prick you really are a menace to the environment…"

He turns to her, blinking curiously. "Hm?"

"What if your girls call you?"

"I'm through with them."

"Serious?" She exclaims, wide-eyed in shock.

"I only hung out with them because... I had tough times and I needed to distract myself."

"…" Yuffie is glaring at him quietly.

"I was looking for peace. But I never found it with any of them. Or even with Sora and Kairi…" He looks at her, and she sneezes abruptly, making him laugh again.

Later, they continue their stroll around town, their clothes wet. Riku's trying not to look at her, and vice versa for Yuffie.

An old couple passes by them at the sidewalk. The old woman turns to her husband while looking at them and noticing they're wet. "Aww… look at them dear! So reckless! Don't they remind you of us back in the day?"

"You're right my love, they do! Hohoho!" Her husband replies. They laugh together as they continue their way.

Yuffie glares back at them before looking back at Riku and pouting at his infuriating smug smirk, "Sheesh! Why do we remind every old couple we face of themselves?"

He chuckles while looking ahead of them, Yuffie watches him interestedly, and then smiles softly too...

_Later, at the end of the date, in front of Yuffie's house…_

"Sure you don't want to eat somewhere?"

Yuffie nods, "I'm not really hungry. But thanks Prick. I had a good time... surprisingly." She tells him genuinely, smiling as she turns around to go inside her house. "See ya!"

"Wait!" He startles her by grabbing her arm abruptly.

She stops and stares back at his intense stare anxiously. "W-What is it Prick?"

"…."

"Prick?" She blinks at him confusedly.

"G-Good night…" He tells her defeatedly and lets her go. She watches him curiously as he stuffs his hands into his pockets and turns to leave silently with his head hung low a bit.

_Something's not right with Prick… I wonder what's wrong… _She thinks to herself worriedly as she closes the front door behind her and then leans against it.

"Welcome home sis!"

She looks up immediately, surprised to find her brother Yuki waiting for her at the stairs, grinning mischievously from ear to ear as soon as they make eye contact.

"So did you and Riku do it?"

"Whaat?" She blushes profusely, flustered.

"Don't worry I won't tell mom and dad!" He runs up the stairs, laughing mischievously.

She stomps up after him angrily. "LISTEN YOU BRAT! THERE IS _NOTHING_ GOING ON BETWEEN ME AND PRICK Y'HEAR?"

_Monday morning at Twilight High…._

Xion shows up at the hallway, cross-dressing again, wearing the male uniform, with the jacket over her shoulder and a hand in her pocket, a complete male stance.

Ansem is furious when he sees her. "YOU PROMISED ME THAT YOU WON'T CROSS-DRESS AGAIN!"

Xion turns to him coolly and says over her shoulder, "Piss off old geezer."

Their principal gasps in shock. He turns to a devilishly smirking Axel leaning coolly against the locker nearby, with Demyx standing obliviously beside him.

"What have you done to her in less than three days?"

"Who, me?" Axel points at himself, feigning innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about old man."

"Arghh! Never mind!" The principal turns his attention back to Xion angrily. "You're coming with me to detention young lady!"

"Oh no old man…" Axel coolly steps in his way. "If you take her to detention, then I will purposely fail the next exam. How's that?"

"HEAVEN FORBID! No! Absolutely do not!" The principal pales in horror. "That cannot happen! I will do as you wish! Please, I beg of you! Have mercy! Do not stay here another year! Not another year… not another year…" He keeps muttering that under his breath over and over even as walks away and finally leaves them alone.

Xion and Axel bump fists victoriously at a good riddance.

Demyx sweat-drops at them, feeling a bit sorry for their principal._ 'Wow… He completely transformed her…'_

"**_Xion_**….?"

They turn around to find Roxas, staring skeptically at Xion in boys' uniform…

* * *

A/N: Oh maan! I completely underestimated the length of my chapters again! xD See I kinda meant to conclude the Yuffiku subplot here, but apparently it needs another chapter. Oh wells. xD Thanks to everyone who's reviewed! Hope you got a laugh or two out of this chap too :)

The Xion Idea: So like, I thought the story needed a tranny. And I wanted to make Xion special in a way... and so! After hearing about that particular case from my cousin who goes to Med school, I got interested and thought of this idea... xD hope you guys are OK with this Axel-corrupted-Xion xD

OH YA! A new poll's up. It's important you vote there :) Winner charac will get somethin' special.


	32. Random Filler: Freaking Fred

Chapter 32:

"**_Xion_**…?"

Axel quickly pulls Xion into his chest, hiding her face from Roxas. "Xion? What the hell you're smoking Roxy? This is our new buddy Shawn!"

"Y-Yeah! He just got transferred here… Oh Shawny!" Demyx adds, laughing nervously as he ruffles Xion's hair.

_Silence._

"…" Roxas is glaring at them suspiciously, and then notices Xion's male uniform. "I see…" Then, feeling kind of sympathetic for 'Shawn', he looks at his friends and says, "Don't you think you're um, squeezing him too tight?"

"We're giving him a welcoming hug!" Demyx hurriedly explains, grinning nervously.

"Yeah so can you go away and let us have our little manly moment in peace?" Axel adds, staring at the blonde impatiently.

"Um sure…" Roxas sweat-drops, walking away. "Whatever." _They're acting weird… Like usual._

Once he's gone and out of sight, they let go of Xion and all three of them relax, letting out a sigh of relief.

"That was close…" Xion smiles gratefully at her friends. "Thanks guys…"

"No prob Shawny!" Demyx grins, and looks at Axel. "Hey how about we call her that from now on?"

"Shawny?" He raises an eyebrow. "Hmm…" He looks down at Xion curiously. "Are you alright with a dude's name?"

"Yeah, I like it," Xion smiles up at them.

Axel smiles back at her warmly, patting her head. "You're a strange little one…That's why I like you."

"Yeah! Me too!" Demyx smiles, putting an arm around her neck. "I like ya Shawny!"

The three smile at each other for a few seconds until—

"AX-AX!"

"What the effin'…" Axel turns behind him to find Selphie in all her hyper glory, scowling in annoyance. "That's the most absurd nickname anyone has ever called me by."

She tilts her head to once side, smiling cutely, unaffected like usual. "Does that make me _special_?"

He ignores her and turns to Xion. She was blinking curiously at the hyper brunette. "'It', this is Shawny," he introduces them coolly. "Shawny, this is 'it'."

"KYAAAAH!" Selphie tackles Xion with a hug all of a sudden, squealing like a fangirl. "YOU ARE SO _ADORABLE_! I COULD ALMOST FALL FOR YOU TOO!"

Axel and Demyx sweat-drop. Xion is chuckling nervously, feeling awkward in her arms.

"Whore off 'it'," Axel sighs while flicking Selphie's forehead. "_Shawny_ is gay."

They all turn to him swiftly, eyes wide.

"For me." He adds coolly with an arrogant smirk.

Their jaws drop down dramatically.

"So you see… you and I are impossible. You and Shawny are impossible. Hey! Look over there!" He exclaims when he notices the male's bathroom door opening, pointing at it. "It's the new love of your life uhm—" He pauses when Pence comes out, making a face. "…What's-his-name fat dude!"

They sweat-drop.

"Hey! I'm not fat, I'm healthy!" Pence shouts back, having heard him somehow and pouts. "And my name is _Pence_! Why do you keep forgetting me and Hayner's names man? It's not cool!"

"Why would I need to memorize wallpapers' names?" Axel shrugs innocently. Pence's shoulders slump in dismay as he trudges off, finally coming in terms with his fate.

Selphie scowls and crosses her arms in front of her. "Give it up. The more you resist me, the more my feelings for you grow! Watch me conqueror your heart… **_Ax-Ax_**!"

Axel's jaw drops slightly for the first time. "You evil little wench…"

"Are they always like this?" Xion whispers to Demyx, sweat-dropping.

"You'll get used to it…" Demyx smiles weakly.

"Bitch, I don't have a fucking heart! I'm a heartless bastard who's REALLY tempted to set your stupid hair on FIRE!"

"You have a heart! _Everyone_ has a heart. And don't tell me you're not capable of loving Ax-Ax, because by the time I'm done with you—"

"LEAVE. ME. THE HELL. **_ALOOOONE_**!"

Meanwhile, Demyx catches Rikku glaring at Axel from afar, an angry expression on her face, and blinks confusedly. '_What's wrong with Rikku…?'_

On her way out of her house to go to school, she stops and realizes, oddly enough, Riku hasn't left yet. She's clocked herself to leave just after her 'enemy'. So not finding out on the road already is making the black-head very curious.

_'Prick; don't tell me you're still sleeping?' _She shakes her head and, reluctantly, goes over to his house next door.

Riku's mom opens the door just as she's about to ring the bell, startling Yuffie. "M-Mrs. Yoshida!" She steps back, wide-eyed.

"Oh hello Yuffie!" Riku's mom greets her distractedly, already walking down the patio and on her way toward her car. "Would you mind checking on Riku? He's been coughing all night. I think he has a cold!"

"What? Prick's sick?" She blinks slowly. '_Wait_,' Yuffie adds mentally, sweat-dropping at Riku's mom. '_You **think**?'_

"I have to go to work. But you will stay with him won't you sweetie? Bye bye!" She smiles at her and winks before quickly getting into her car, leaving Yuffie no chance to refuse.

_'Prick's mom… really is the worst.'_ Yuffie watches her drive away and then sighs, her shoulders slumping. "I guess I have no choice…" She looks up at the direction of Riku's room and sighs again.

_Inside Riku's house…_

"Prick...?" Yuffie peeks carefully into the silver-head's room. "Are you in there?"

She finds Riku lying in his bed, his blanket kicked off, and an arm over his forehead. Slowly, he turns his face to her, surprised.

"Yuffie. What are you doing here?" He asks weakly, blinking.

"I-I'm just here to observe my enemy in his weak state!" She exclaims immediately after coming in, blushing. "That's all!"

"Right…" He chuckles to himself lightly, and then suddenly starts coughing.

Yuffie frowns worriedly, stepping toward him. "Prick, are you okay?"

He stops coughing and smiles at her warmly. "I'm glad you came."

She pouts at the ceiling, blushing despite herself. "I-I said I just came here to make fun of you alright! It's not often _you_ fall sick…." She trailed off, failing to hide the worry in her voice at the last statement.

He stops smiling suddenly and stares at her with a serious expression that is making her feel uneasy. "Yuffie. I'm sorry…"

She stares at him, wide-eyed and dumbstruck. "What the… prick, did you just… _apologize_?" She stops and blinks at him confusedly. "For what?"

"Mistaking you for a guy and… breaking your heart…" He sighs at the ceiling. "I was a complete jerk to you back then… No wonder you hate me…"

She stares at him for a long minute. "Prick… you're not going to die right?" She asks quietly, her eyes filling up with tears.

He bursts out laughing suddenly, making her pout.

"Then why are saying such weird things...sheesh…" She complains to herself, frowning.

He stops laughing and looks back at her softly. "You were right about me. I am a bad guy. And you should have stayed away from me completely."

"Huh?" She tilts her head at him confusedly. "Is it the sickness making you say funny things? I don't get it…"

"You really are special, Yuffie…" Riku continued, ignoring that, "You're better off without me… but...I can't let you go." He stares right into her eyes hotly, freezing her at the spot. "I'm in love with you."

_Present time, Twilight High, lockers area…_

"…And then what happened? What did you say?"Kairi presses Yuffie impatiently, eager to hear the rest of what happened between the black-head and Riku this morning.

Yuffie gives her a blank look. "I… left his house."

"Just like that?" The red-head cries incredulously, disappointed.

"Yeah, I just turned and left…" Yuffie shrugs simply.

"What the heck? _You_ _just_ _left_? What were you thinking? You were supposed to give him your answer!" The red-head explodes.

Roxas sweat-drops beside Kairi as he's taking his book from his locker. "Why do you always stick your nose in everybody's business?"

"You shut up. It's a girl thing!" Kairi snaps without looking at him, and then focuses back on Yuffie, her hands on her hips. "What kind of girl would just walk away without saying a word after hearing a guy's confession!"

"Listen," Yuffie whispers and leans in suddenly, looking grave. "That wasn't Prick alright?"

"…" Both Kairi and Roxas look at her funny, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, it WAS Prick… but he was clearly delusional…"

"I never thought I'd say this but…" Roxas sweat-drops. "Poor Riku."

"After school, we're all going to visit Riku. And after we leave, _you're_ going to stay behind and talk to him. Got it?" Kairi says, glaring at the black-head.

"_All alone_? With a delusional guy like that? You can't be serious Kai!" Yuffie exclaims, appalled.

"Oh I am," she smiles wickedly.

"Evil!" Yuffie gasps.

Roxas sweat-drops again, closing his locker. "You have no idea…"

_Meanwhile, up on the rooftop by himself…_

Sora is depressed and currently moping up on the school's roof, sitting in a corner and hugging his knees close to his chest.

_'So the guy Naminé likes… is Seifer…'_ He sighs miserably. _'There's no doubt about it… Everyone must have been trying to tell this to me before but couldn't do it… they're such good friends… they gave me hints too… But I was too stupid to realize it then….'_ He sighs again.

The bell rings, and Sora stands up and starts practicing his best smile. He should be happy for Naminé, he thinks, determined.

_Later, at Naminé's and Sora's class…_

Sora comes into class a few minutes late, and takes his usual seat next to Naminé's. She smiles at him a little, glad to see him come finally.

He stares at her blankly for a while during the lesson, catching her off-guard and making her nervous, and then leans to her side and whispers, "Are you happy?"

"Umm…. Yes…?" She answers confusedly.

Hurt and despair flashed across his expression, making her even more confused. But then he forces a smile. "Th-Then I'm happy for you too," he says, and leans back.

"Thank you... I guess…." She starts turning away to keep up with the lesson, but Sora's weird behavior completely disrupted her focus.

He leans in again suddenly, startling her. "Are you really happy?" He asks, almost desperately.

Naminé stares at him funny, starting to get annoyed. "Yes I am." She sweat-drops mentally as she turns back to the lesson. _'He's so weird sometimes...'_

Around five minutes pass until Sora suddenly leans in again, "I just want you to know that my feelings for you won't change no matter what." And then he just sits back again casually, focusing on their teacher.

Naminé's whole face explodes into a blush, she starts shifting in her seat nervously, panicky thinking, _'I-is he confessing? Right **now**? In the middle of the lesson?'_

…And she couldn't focus this entire lesson, and all the other lessons.

Later, the cafeteria, lunch break…

"You turned down Fred?" Kairi gasps, staring at Naminé in complete shock. Fred has apparently confessed to Naminé early this lunch break, and she has apparently rejected him. "I mean, I understand why you did it," and then in a softer voice, "because you like someone else—"

At that, Sora stops eating his cookie, sighing miserably to himself while staring into space.

"—But _Fred_? Are you serious?" Kairi continued in disbelief, ignoring the brunette.

Yuffie pops out of nowhere like usual. "FRED!" She gasps dramatically. "You turned him down? No way!"

Naminé sneaks a look at the lifeless Sora, blushes, and then looks away nervously. _'What is going in that idiot clown's head? Was it a confession, or did he mean something else? Which is it?'_

_After school…_

On their way back from school to Axel and Demyx's apartment, in Axel's car – who is the one driving – he, Demyx, Xion and Marluxia, who're coming along to visit, get caught in traffic.

Xion leans against the headrest and pats Axel's shoulder when she senses his edginess, smiling nervously. "Relax, it'll be over soon. Just think happy thoughts."

"Who wants to have their nails painted?" Marluxia asks excitedly all of a sudden.

_Silence._

"I'm thinking to paint mine either baby pink or rose," he continues casually, and then looks at Axel. "What do you think Axel?"

"Shut the fuck up faggot."

Marluxia is hurt, his eyes filling up with tears instantly.

Xion pats his back as the pink-head starts to sob. "You made him cry!" She scolds the red-head.

"That's not very nice Ax!" Demyx adds.

"I-I've always liked you Axel! Wh-Wh-Why are you s-so mean?" Marluxia cries between sobs, and then buries his head into his hand, sobbing harder.

Axel turns around, trying to control his raging temper, and says sarcastically, "Dude, I'm sorry I was born hot and straight. Life's not fair. Plenty of fish in the sea. MAN THE FUCK UP."

Marluxia wails harder. Xion and Demyx start shaking her head.

Axel turns to them exasperatedly. "What the hell do you want me to say? 'I'm sorry I just had an epiphany and realized I'm gay let's fuck each other in the back seat till this FUCKING TRAFFIC STOPS ALREADY? FUUUUCK! MOVE IT OR I'LL BURN YOU! I'LL FUCKING BURN YOU ALLLL!'" He abuses the car horn.

"Ax… what did we say about temper and bad language? Breathe in, breathe out…" Demyx tells him slowly.

"Remember, think happy thoughts!" Xion reminds him with a nervous smile.

Suddenly, Marluxia catches sight of the person driving next to them and gasps. "Oh my Fred! Look at that guy. He is _hot_. I can't let him see me like this, I look like shit!" He quickly starts cleaning his face and then fixing himself at the mirror.

"…" Axel inhales deeply, trying very hard to control his temper. Fortunately, the cars start moving again.

"Ax! STOP!" Xion yells abruptly.

"WHAT!" He stops the car suddenly, looking around them in alarm.

"There's an ice cream stand."

He inhales again and says through gritted teeth while driving the car again, "Screw ice cream."

"Pleeease!" She begs.

"Yeah Ax! Pleaase!" Demyx starts begging too.

"Grow up Dem," The red-head rolls his eyes mentally.

" Pleeease!"

He turns to Xion, glaring intimidatingly. "No. And don't try that stupid puppy face. It only worked on Roxy."

"Pleeeeeease!"

"No."

"Pleeeeeeeease!"

He sneaks a look at her, thinking panicky, _'Oh fuck it's happening. The look.'_ "No."

"Pleeeeeeeease!"

Axel is shifting uncomfortably in his seat. _'I will not lose… I will not lose… I will not lose…'_

"Pretty pleeeease!" Marluxia joins in suddenly.

Axel looks at him in disgust. "Hell no!"

Xion lays her head on his shoulder and looks at him with wide open innocent eyes. "Please?"

He curses and makes a sharp U-turn. "**_ALRIGHT_**!"

"Yay!" Demyx, Marluxia and Xion celebrate at the same time, high fiving.

"You're the best buddy in the wooorld!" Demyx grins.

Xion nods in agreement excitedly. "Best friend ever!"

"I love you!" Marluxia adds.

The red-head sighs. "I hate my life…"


	33. Here comes the Hero

Chapter 33:

A black-haired man with blue eyes was waiting outside the student counselor's office. He's been called in by her earlier, wanting to 'discuss an important matter with him concerning his daughter'.

After only few minutes have passed, the man becomes impatient nonetheless and goes into the room, ignoring the fact that the counselor is still busy with someone else in there.

"…And this is why you can't add 'y'know' every time you answer a question or write your name. Do you understand me, Rai?" Aqua is saying to the student sitting behind her desk, currently oblivious to the man who has just intruded into her office.

"I can't help it… y'know?" Rai shrugs helplessly.

She smiles at him sweetly. "That's why you're here. I'm going to try to help you…" She trails off when she notices the man standing behind him. "Excuse me, can I help you?"

"Hi there!" The man grins at her cheerfully, waving a hand. "You called me earlier, said it's something important to discuss about my daughter?"

"Oh," she stares at him suspiciously. "You are Xion's father?"

"One and only."

Aqua continues staring at him, surprised. The man in front of her looks about her age, and he is _very_ attractive… She coughs into her fist suddenly, trying hard to look professional. Even though she's just met the man in person, she's feeling outrageously attracted to him and that is making her nervous.

"I'm sorry; it's just that you look so young…" She says apologetically.

"Yeah, well, that's what you get when you impregnate your girlfriend in High School," he says, laughing. "And trust me; I'm not the only one. I have friends my age who have kids around my daughter's age too. But at least they didn't accidentally impregnate their girlfriends; they just hooked up early…"

"Oh." Aqua sweat-drops at his unusualness. No wonder Xion has turned out like this. "I see."

"Uhh… I'm here y'know?" Rai says quietly, looking from one to the other while sweat-dropping.

"Her mother was a cheerleader…" The intruder ignores him and goes on, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "I think her name was Kristen… or Cissnei… I don't remember," he flashes Aqua a dorky grin.

"That girl… her mother, she left Xion to you?" Aqua asks in disbelief.

"Yeah," he shrugs, and then, weirdly, starts squatting in the spot as he is explaining, earning a funny look from Aqua and Rai, "Said something about wanting to become an actress…couldn't have a baby to tie her down… She was going to offer her for adoption but… I couldn't let that happen… _So…_ my parents helped me raise her… while I left for the army." He stops squatting suddenly and lets out a contented breath. "So. What do you wanna discuss?"

"Um… I'm still here y'know?" Rai sweat-drops.

"You're a soldier?" Aqua asks curiously.

"_EX_-soldier, recently retired," he informs her, grinning. "Now I can spend all my time with my precious daughter! She is super adorable isn't she?" He starts rummaging through his pants pocket. "I carry her pictures with me all the time, wanna see?"

"M-Maybe later…" She sweat-drops, glancing at Rai sympathetically, who starts getting up to leave.

"I think I'm late for class…Y'know?" Rai says, sighing.

"Hey, kid," Xion's father turns to Rai suddenly as he's about to close the door behind him. "I heard about your problem. And I got the perfect solution for you: every time you find yourself saying 'Y'know', have someone near you – a close friend or whatever – _punch you in the face_! That'll definitely work!" He tells him cheerfully, making Aqua sweat-drop.

Rai looks at him funny for a second and then calmly closes the door behind him without a word.

"Please have a seat," Aqua says professionally, gesturing at the now vacant chair in front of her office desk. "I have a question to you about your daughter—" She stops once she notices what he's doing.

He's picked up the photo portrait on her desk and checking it out. It has Aqua and Terra, her husband.

"Is this your boyfriend?" Xion's father asks casually while looking back up at her.

"Actually, he's my husband. Can we focus back on your daughter's—"

"You're _married_? For how long?" He asks, genuinely interested.

"Almost two years…"

"Do you have kids?" He asks excitedly.

"Um, no…" She starts fumbling around with the paper's nervously.

"Why? Kids are great! I love kids!"

"We're kind of separated at the moment," she tells him with a weak smile.

"Oh," his smile slips off. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. Anyway, about your daughter—"

"Look, uh…" He looks at her questioningly for her name.

"Aqua."

"Aqua. I'm not going to play dumb. I know why I'm here," the man says seriously all of a sudden, surprising Aqua with his sudden change of attitude. "My daughter has grown a habit of cross dressing lately. And I'm aware you see that as a problem but it's never bothered me. I let my daughter to do whatever she wishes. I have complete faith in her."

"That's… sweet," Aqua admits, smiling softly. "But, cross-dressing is forbidden in our school. She's been called to the principal's office several times already and she's only just enrolled here."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Talk to her. You're her father."

He sighs. "Is it really that big of a problem? It's just clothes… it's not like she's pretending to be a guy…."

"Don't worry. I'm going to be with you step by step, until your daughter can get over this. All I need is your complete corporation. First, I'd like to ask you few personal questions, if you don't mind. Just to get a clearer understanding of Xion's environment."

"Shoot!"

"Do you spend enough time with your daughter?"

"Now? Yeah, it's just before I was away at the army, like I told you, and she was living with my parents then. They took good care of her."

She jots something down on her notepad. "Are you married? In a relationship?"

"Nope. I have a few flings now and then, a man has his needs you know, but that's it. Nothing serious."

She jots down something else. "Is Xion okay with your, 'flings'? Has she ever displayed behavior that she—?"

"She's okay with it. I _think_…"

She smiles sympathetically, resting her hands on the desk. "I think that may be the problem. Xion needs a mom."

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"Maybe you should consider going on a serious relationship," she suggests with a slight shrug.

He laughs nervously, scratching the back of his head, "I don't think that's possible…"

"Do you have commitment issues?"

"No, it's just…" He stops and looks away nervously.

"Hm?" She presses him when he doesn't continue, staring at him expectantly.

"Hey, I just got an idea!" He exclaims abruptly, catching her off guard. "How about _you_ become the surrogate mom?"

"Wh-What?" She flinches visibly, blushing.

"Relax; it's just a temporary thing. Then your husband might feel jealous or whatever, and that might work out whatever problems between you two… and Xion will get to have a mom. See, it all works out! Everybody wins! I'm a man with quick solutions." He says, grinning proudly to himself.

She starts fumbling around with the papers on her desk again, flustered. "U-Um… I don't think it's a good idea."

"It's a GREAT idea! Come on!"

"No. I'm sorry. Can you please leave now?" She says in a rush while nervously collecting her papers, avoiding looking at him. "W-We'll continue this discussion in anoth—"

Suddenly, the man reaches out his hand to catch one of hers as she's sorting out the papers. She freezes and just stares at him, alarmed, feeling as though she's just been electrified the moment he's touched her, her face redder than ever.

"Please," he says quietly, staring at her in the eyes. "Xion needs you. I'm willing to do whatever it takes for my daughter."

Silence. Finally, she smiles and nods, sighing in defeat. "Alright… for Xion."

He grins from ear to ear and punches the air happily all of a sudden. "_Yes_! Thank you!"

"You're welcome Mr. Fair," she smiles shyly.

He grins impishly. "Call me Zack from now on."

Later, at Axel's and Demyx's apartment…

The gang has just returned from their ice cream adventure. Axel literally kicks the door opens to his apartment, pissed off as hell, followed by Xion, Demyx and Marluxia, happily licking their ice creams.

"Ugh!" Marluxia makes a disgusted face as soon as he walks in. "Look at the interior design of this room. Simply horrid." He gasps sharply all of a sudden when he sees the artificial decorative plant on the coffee table. "The flower is _PLASTIC_."

"Oh I'm sorry I'm not a FAGGOT!" Axel explodes angrily on his way to retire to his bedroom. "I'D HAVE BURNED THIS UGLY THING AGES AGO IF DEMYX WOULDN'T BITCH ABOUT IT!"

"BUT AX!" Demyx cries, picking up the flower and smelling it. "It's got a beautiful scent… smell it!"

Axel stops momentarily and gives him a funny look. "It's ugly and it sickens me. Plus it does not smell! FOR THE HUNDREDTH TIME, THE THING IS MADE OF PLASTIC! GOT IT FUCKING MEMORIZED ALREADY?"

"It does! I swear! Smell it!" He inhales deeply. "Nice isn't it?" And then he introduces it to Xion and Marluxia. "This is my friend Bob!"

"How does your nose even…." Axel shakes his head, giving up, and starts complaining on the way to his bed room, "He makes friends with plants, hears voice in his head, indestructible….. Roxy's an emo questioning his sexuality… and Shawny here is a tranny. My friends are jewels…"

Meanwhile, Xion is sweat-dropping at Demyx. "Oh wow…you haven't changed at all…"

"Ax! Where are you going?" Demyx cries after the red-head suddenly, who's already in the hallway.

"_MY ROOM_! Where the FUCK do you think I'm going genius?"

"Why?" Demyx asks infuriatingly.

"I'M GOING TO SLEEP, HAPPY?"

"But Axel! It's only 4 PM!" Marluxia protests.

"I'LL SLEEP WHENEVER I GODDAMN WANT!" He slams his door shut.

"SLEEP WELL AXEL!" They cry after him innocently.

"**FUCK YOU**!" He retorts from within the room.

A few seconds later, the door bell rings. Demyx opens the door and finds Selphie... and Rikku standing outside.

Meanwhile, with Sora, Naminé, Kairi, Roxas and Yuffie…

They're walking to Riku's house, to visit him, as planned. Kairi and Roxas are walking behind in the back, while the rest are ahead of them in front.

"Naminé and Sora barely spoke to each other…" Roxas notes out loud. "Do you think something happened?"

Kairi smiles. "You know, Roxas… you have a natural talent for my business. You're very perceptive. We would make an awesome team."

"What business?" He gives a suspicious look. "Don't tell me the match making stuff."

"Oh, come on… It's fun! When you match up a couple and then you see them happy together… it gives you a warm and tingly sensation inside!" She sighs dreamily.

"Right." He rolls his eyes. "It's none of your business. Focus on yourself for a change."

"Admit it. You want to help Sora and Naminé just as much as I do," she smiles at him teasingly.

"Only because Sora is my cousin."

"Aww… you're so nice!"

"Shut up."

She giggles, grinning.

"Roxas? Oh hell, it _is_ you! Roxas!"

They turn to their side to find none other than Zack pulling up his car by the sidewalk near them.

"You know him?" Yuffie asks curiously, looking behind at Roxas like the rest.

Roxas freezes in shock when he turns and sees Zack coming out of his car and walking toward them. Of course he knows him. Zack Fair. His ex-girlfriend's almost always absent father…

"What are the chances!" Zack is grinning as he stops to stand in front of Roxas, clapping the blonde's shoulder.

"Xion's dad? Wh-What are you doing here?" The blonde asks anxiously, his heart racing.

'_Xion_…?' Kairi's widen, recognizing her. Xion… the girl Demyx has said is Roxas's ex-girlfriend. For some reason, Kairi feels her heart racing as well.

"You're a student at Twilight High too?" Zack beams. "That's just fantastic! Then you must have seen my Xion!"

"Um, n-no, I haven't yet…" Roxas's eyes widen in sudden realization. _'That guy… 'Shawn'... it was actually Xion after all!'_

While Roxas is too speechless to respond, Zack is looking at his face, grinning ever so cheerfully. "Hey there! I'm Zack Fair, Xion's father. You're Roxas's friends?"

"I'm actually his cousin!" Sora exclaims while pointing at himself and grinning back just as cheerfully. "Sora Leonhart!" He turns to look at Naminé and each of his friends. "And this is Naminé Strife, Kairi Kimura and Yuffie Kisaragi!"

"Nice to meetcha!" Yuffie says cheerfully, raising a hand.

"Hello," Naminé nods shyly.

"Wait a minute… your parents can't be Cloud Strife and Squall Leonhart?" Zack looks at Naminé and Sora in pleasant surprise.

"Yep, those are their parents alright!" Yuffie answers for them.

"You know them?" Sora asks excitedly, blinking. Naminé's eyes widen curiously at Zack.

"Know them?" Zack laughs out loud, momentarily forgetting about Roxas. "We went to the same High school!"

"Oh wow!" Sora grins, folding his hands behind his head. "What a small world."

"Tell me about it!" Zack chuckles.

"D-Do you know Tifa Lockhart too?" Naminé asks curiously.

"Teef? Yeah, of course I know Teef! She was with us in High school too. Did she and Cloud finally hook up or something?" He asks jokingly.

"Yeah, actually, they're going out," Yuffie tells him, and his eyes widen, surprised, like he hasn't seriously expected that.

"Oh," is all he says, blinking in surprise.

"D-Did you know my mother too… A-Aerith Gainsborough?" Naminé asks. Truth is, in an old memory almost completely forgotten, she's heard Zack's name before. From her mother.

_Silence._

He grins, but Naminé can tell Zack's grin is forced this time. "Yeah. Yeah I know her. Like I said, we all went to the same High school. She was a…precious friend. It's tragic that she... passed away. Hey!" He turns to Roxas suddenly, clapping his shoulder again and consequently snapping him out of his daze. "How is your mother? Still an airhostess?"

"Um, y-yeah… I'm staying at my cousin's place right now," Roxas tells him nervously.

"With Squall? God help you," Zack laughs jokingly. "He married Rinoa right?"

"Yeah," Sora replies proudly.

"I knew it; those two looked serious from the start! I'm happy for them!" He smiles softly into space, as if remembering some old memory.

Naminé is staring at him wonderingly. Something about the way Zack has behaved when she's mentioned her mother is making her feel that there's something she doesn't know about the classmates' past.

"Well, it was nice to see you Roxas, and Roxas's friends, say Hi to your parents for me!" Zack has said finally, stretching and turning around to get back to his car. "I'm sure Xion would still be happy to see you again, even after, y'know…" He trails off, but Roxas knew he means Xion's previous 'sexual problem'.

"Bye Mr. Fair!" Everyone waves at him goodbye, except Roxas and Kairi, who are still feeling uneasy of this sudden realization that Xion, Roxas's ex, is back and in the same school as them.

Kairi puts a hand over her heart and curses in her head, _'Shoot. I like him.'_


	34. Random Filler 2: Fred Strikes Again

**This is a Random Filler chapter starring Axel and Sora, Winners of Fools in Love's First Best Character Awards! **

Chapter 34

_Axel and Demyx's apartment…_

For the past half hour, Demyx has been playing his guitar while Rikku, Selphie, Xion AND Marluxia are singing along, clearly having fun causing outrageous level of noise… while Axel is supposedly asleep in his room nearby.

"AND I WAS LIKE BABY, BABY, BABY, OOOH~!"

Axel, in his bed, was struggling to fight the temptation to burn the whole freaking apartment down, along with his friends. _'Out of all fucking songs… **Fucking** Justin Bieber…'_

Suddenly, they've stopped playing and singing, and Axel is finally able to relax.

"I'm hungry," Rikku blurts out, getting off the couch. "Anyone else hungry?"

They all nod.

"Then I'll cook us dinner," she smiles and heads toward the fridge.

When she opens it, she discovers that it is completely empty, save for a cold dead goldfish lying in the middle. She blinks at it several times in surprise.

Demyx appears out of nowhere, looking over shoulder and chuckling nervously, "Hehe… it's my goldfish Robbie! He died like two years ago I think—"

Rikku turns to him, jaw dropping slightly.

"—So I put him in the fridge until I could find a suitable time to give him a proper funeral! Totally forgot about him though!" He smiles sheepishly. "Hehe!"

Turning back to the others, she suggests with a weak smile, "G-Guys! How about pizza?"

Later, just after Rikku had put down the phone after ordering for them pizza, the apartment bell rings.

"Wow! That was fast!" Demyx exclaims in surprise as Selphie opens the door.

And their guest is none other than Zexion.

He marches in, pushing Selphie aside, and walks straight up to Demyx while pointing a finger at him. "I challenge you Demyx Nakamura! You have wounded my pride to a severe degree, and now, I am here to avenge myself! Right here, and right now… I declare war! You are now my greatest rival! I shall beat you and reclaim my rightful place as the top student in our school! Mark my words, Nakamura!"

_Silence_. Everybody is staring at Zexion funny. Until –

"Umm…" Demyx is scratching his head confusedly. "Do I… know you?"

_Another silence._

Suddenly, Zexion breaks down and falls onto his knees, sobbing. "Why? Why does no one ever notice me? **_Whyyy_**?" More wailing and sobbing.

Selphie starts patting his back, trying to soothe him, but he only wails harder, causing Marluxia to burst into tears as well. The two guys hug each other, sobbing loudly against each other's shoulders, while the rest just watch them dumbfoundedly.

_Back in Axel's room…_

_'What the HELL?'_ The red-head is thinking. _'The fag is **crying**? …The **hell**?'_

_Later, after Zexion and Marluxia have finally calmed down…_

"Don't worry Zexion. At least _Fred_ notices you. You're not completely alone…" Marluxia assures the silver-head; putting a comforting hand on his while they're all sitting on the couch.

"Fred is evil." Zexion sniffs.

Then the apartment bell rings again.

"Yay! It must be our food!" Selphie claps happily, literally skipping toward the door.

To their disappointment, when she opens the door, it turns out to be… Larxene?

The blonde girl barges in and slumps onto the nearest couch with her bag. Then she looks up and glares at their dumbfounded faces. "What? What the fuck are you all looking at?"

"N-Nothing!" They all their shake their heads quickly, startled.

"Larx, wh-what are you doing here?" Demyx asks curiously. He and Axel know Larxene of course. She's one of their friends, and she's also repeated the year several times.

"I got in a fight with my girlfriend, so I'm temporarily moving in with you," she casually declares while checking her manicured fingernails.

"You got in a fight with Paine?" Rikku asks, blinking in surprise.

"None of your business, bitch," Larxene glares at her, and then looks at Xion questioningly. "Who's _this_ bitch? I haven't seen her before… Oh let me guess. Axel's new plaything?" She says in a bored voice. "Weird. I thought he only had a thing for busty bitches."

Xion blushes slightly and quickly shakes her head. "N-No! We're just friends. I'm Xion."

"Larxene," she replies in the same bored tone while turning her head to look at Demyx again. "Make me a sandwich I'm hungry." Then her eyes settle on Zexion sitting on the other couch and she raises an eyebrow. "Who the fuck are you?"

Needless to say, that's caused Zexion to burst out crying again and burying his face into his hands. Sitting by his sides, Marluxia and Selphie try to comfort him again.

Larxene simply looks away with a disgusted face. "I hate wimps…"

"Umm…" Demyx is scratching his head nervously. "La-Larxene… Th-there's no food in the fridge…"

She glares at him menacingly. "Are you saying you don't want to make me a sandwich?" She asks in a threateningly low voice.

"W-We ordered pizza for everyone though so it's okay!" Rikku quickly comes to his rescue, aware of Larxene's status as a bully, especially to poor Demyx.

"**NO ROOMS AVAILABLE**!"

They turn around, startled, to find Axel standing there, pointing at Larxene, looking grumpy as hell.

"Axel!" Selphie exclaims giddily, jumping up from the couch.

"Did you have a good nap?" Marluxia asks calmly, smiling. Axel decides to ignore that.

"Screw you Axel. I'm staying here, whether you like it or not," Larxene replies calmly without even looking up from her fingernails.

"The fuck you are! It's **_MY_** FUCKING APARTMENT!"

"Yours _AND_ this dimwit's!" She snaps back, nodding at Demyx's direction. "I'll share _his_ room! He doesn't mind, right? _Right_?" She glares at Demyx menacingly while everyone sweat-drops, feeling sorry for the blonde.

"Y-Yeah… su-sure… w-we can share… hehe…" He gulps nervously.

"I like girls so you won't worry about me trying anything," she shrugs casually, calmly focusing her attention back to her fingernails.

_'Poor Demyx…'_ Everyone sweat-drops, glad they're not in his shoes.

"W-what if I try s-something? I-I'm a guy y'know…"

Larxene stops suddenly, an eerie silence follows. Slowly, she glares up at Demyx. "Try and I'll bite your balls off. Understand?"

He gulps again. "Y-Yes ma'am!"

Axel takes a moment to look around at their guests. "The fuck is this? Do we have a sign outside our door that says 'Welcome, whoever the fuck you are'? AND WHY THE HELL IS THIS GUY CRYING?" He points at Zexion.

"He doesn't remember me!" The silver-head breaks into another fit of tears.

_The door bell rings._

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE FRIGGIN' KIDDING ME!" Axel snaps and then angrily opens the door to bark, "**WHAT**!"

The poor pizza man flinches, terrified. "P-Pizza?"

Later, Axel leaves his friends to eat while he goes out for fresh air, walking by the street. He needs to calm himself down or else he'll turn his friends into barbeque.

The weather is extremely cold, snow is falling lightly, and the streets are nearly empty because of the late hour.

"It's cold isn't it?"

He turns to his side to find that Rikku has followed him. He frowns while looking back ahead of them, burying his hands into his jacket pockets. "I hate the cold. I hate winter."

They walk in peaceful silence for a while. Rikku is shuddering while hugging her arms, obviously cold. But Axel doesn't get the hint, or maybe he has and just doesn't care, Rikku thinks sadly. "Won't you gimme your jacket already? A lady freezing here!"

"Nope. I need it."

"You really are a jerk." She murmurs under her breath, pouting.

He ignores her, rubbing his hands together from the cold while looking down around them, as if searching for something. Then he finds a twig lying on the sidewalk in front of them and picks it up.

Rikku blinks at it stupidly for a few seconds, and then excitedly she's exclaims, "Hey! Light it on fire! You can set things on fire by staring at them right? Or maybe you're just bluffing to impress girls…"

"Hah. Am not. And most chicks think it's scary shit, makes them run," he says, smirking.

"Prove it. Light the twig on fire, I dare you!"

On 'I dare you', Axel immediately accepts the challenge. "You're on!" He concentrates on it for a few seconds, and sure enough, it's lit up instantly.

Rikku starts clapping excitedly, awed. "Wow! That was incredible Ax!"

A random guy from across the street yells at them suddenly, "Put that fire out freak!"

"Fuck you!" Axel retorts, ignoring him and walking ahead with the burning twig.

Rikku sweat-drops, smiling and shaking her head, and then hurries after him.

Suddenly, Axel surprises her by handing her over the burning twig, without even looking at her.

She takes it, stops, and looks at his back questioningly.

He rubs his hands together and tells her in an unusual soft tone coming from him, "To keep you warm."

"Axel…" She grins happily and runs after him, laughing. Axel groans, looking away. But she just laughs harder, giddy to have found out a side of Axel she's never experienced before.

**FLASHBACK PART** – _When Sora met Axel_

It is Sora's second year in Twilight High, yet, it is before he's known and officially met Naminé.

He's already become one of the most popular guys in the school, along with his best friend, Riku Yoshida. But unlike his older friend, Sora is more social and outgoing and has made nearly the whole school his friends. He knows everyone, and everyone knows him. Except Axel. He hasn't talked to Axel Akuma yet. The brunette is curious about the infamous red-head. Very curious. And when Sora's curious about someone…

"Sora. It's the third time you've asked me about this guy already! Why don't you go to talk to him?" Kairi suggests exasperatedly while they're getting their books out of their lockers.

"Don't recommend it," Riku says while leaning against his closed locker behind them. "Akuma's bad news. You should stay away from him."

"It's weird… I mean, I've been here for a year already but I've never gotten the chance to see'im!" Sora says while closing his locker. "OR his friend!"

"Sora." Riku and Kairi sigh at the same time.

"They say even principal Ansem is terrified of him!"

"Sora."

"I also heard that he has supernatural powers! How cool is that? I've got to meet this guy!"

"Sora."

He turns to his friend innocently. "What?"

"This man crush of yours is creeping us out," Riku blurts out and Kairi nods.

"It's not a MAN CRUSH!" Sora pouts. "I'm just curious about this guy is all okay! I like to know who my classmates are!"

"He's not your classmate," Kairi points out calmly.

"ACTUALLY, he is!" Sora tells her triumphantly. "He's in half of my classes! I heard the teacher call out his name but…" His shoulders slump. "He's never attended. The only time Fred told me he attended was when I was sick and had to skip school. How unlucky is that…"

"Maybe it's for the better," Kairi says. "I mean, you know what they say about this guy…He's bad."

"Riku was bad before but now look at him," Sora retorts calmly.

"Hey. Don't compare me with that guy," Riku glares at him. "His type is scum."

"That's mean Riku," Sora pouts at his friend.

"Riku is just worried about you," Kairi tells him softly. "You can't be friends with anyone Sora. Especially this guy. He's a bad influence."

Sora doesn't appear convinced, however, so Riku sighs. "Whatever. Do what you want!" The silver-head snaps and walks away to class in a huff.

Kairi giggles, "I think Riku's jealous."

"You think that's it?" Sora blinks, surprised.

Kairi shakes her head, sighing as she walks away for class too. "Just forget about Axel."

After Kairi has left him, the fangirls suddenly bounce at Sora from nowhere.

"I GOT HIM! HE'S **MINE**!"

"KYAAAAAH! HE'S SO SOFT!"

"HE SMELLS LIKE CHOCOLATE!"

"HE SMELLS LIKE CINNAMON!"

"HE SMELLS LIKE… LIKE…" The unnamed fangirl swoons before she can finish.

"Let me BREATHE!" Sora struggles to unbind himself from them.

"OH MY FRED HE IS GOING TO CHOKE TO DEATH!" A fangirl exclaims in panic.

"LET GO OF HIM BITCHES!"

"YOU LET GO!"

"NO YOU!"

Suddenly, Mrs. Maleficent pops up from among the mass of fangirls. "Victims of Sin! REPENT! COME BACK FROM THE DARK SIDE! GO TO YOUR CLASSES BEFORE I LAY A CURSE UPON THEE!"

Upon hearing the word 'curse', the fangirls scream and quickly start dispersing, leaving Sora all alone in the middle of the hallway, finally getting some air, while poor Maleficent is swept along with the mass of fangirls.

Sora looks around at the deserted hallway, momentarily disoriented. He stops suddenly when he notices a lama sitting in the middle of the hallway ahead of him, chewing on random notebook paper.

He narrows his eyes at it. _'Is that… a lama? What the heck is it doing here? I could've sworn it wasn't there a minute ago… Creepy…' _He bypasses the lama carefully, keeping distance.

_'Crap! Now I'm really late for class!' _The brunette curses in his head while running through the hallways. On his way, he notices two people talking outside his class and stops. He recognizes one of them as their school's student guidance counselor. Mr. Joe. Nobody likes Mr. Joe. He's been getting many complaints and everyone's saying there's a big chance that Mr. Joe is going to be replaced soon.

"From now on, you are to attend regular therapy sessions with me…" Mr. Joe is saying while jotting stuff on his notepad, like usual. "...Mr. Akuma."

_'It's him!'_ Sora beams, thrilled. _'It's Axel!'_

"The hell? Therapy?" Axel raises an eyebrow. "This is a school buddy, not your mental institution. And why the hell do I need therapy? Do I look crazy to you?" He takes a threatening step toward Mr. Joe, a menacing look on his face.

Mr. Joe is unfazed, however. Calmly, he replies, "_Everyone_ is complaining about you, Mr. Akuma. Literally _everyone_."

Axel smirks devilishly, pleased with himself. "I am popular aren't I?"

"You _need_ these sessions to fix your deranged behavior problem. You weren't like this two years ago, Mr. Akuma. Opening your heart, and sharing your feelings will definitely help—"

He groans, "To hell with the sentimental shit. It's not me who's crazy okay? It's this place, and all the people around me. I'm the closest to sane insane person you'll ever meet here. It's this school I'm telling you. It's friggin' crazy man, it's INSANE! There's a FUCKING LAMA SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HALLWAY!" He points behind them. But there's nothing, just Mr. Saix, looking angry as hell. The lama behind them has disappeared completely, and Sora has managed to jump into the nearest trashcan just in time to hide from Saix.

"Oh. So now Mr. Saix is a, ahem, lama?" Mr. Joe is smirking smugly.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Axel exclaims. "THERE WAS A LAMA AND SOME DUDE WITH SPIKY HAIR! RIGHT THERE GODDAMIT! JUST A SECOND AGO!"

Saix suddenly appears right in front of them, in berserk mode. "AXEELLLL! YOU NUT CASE! DETENTION!"

Axel ignores him and exclaims triumphantly to Joe, "See! Psycho teachers giving detentions for no logical reason!"

Joe simply tuts, shaking his head as he jots something down on his notepad. "Disturbed and delusional."

"ME? What the hell is wrong you?"

"I'll see you in my office after your detention Mr. Akuma," Joe says calmly before leaving to his office.

_'You'll lose your job. I'll make fucking sure of it.'_ Axel is thinking darkly while watching him go.

Later, during the lunch break…

"A lama? Sora, are you serious?" Kairi is laughing as they're sitting at their usual table with their food trays.

"I'm positive guys! There was a lama there! Axel was not lying, I saw it!"

"He finally lost it, what's left of his brain," Riku murmurs, making Kairi laugh harder.

Sora pouts, offended. He picks up his tray and leaves their table.

"Sora wait! We're sorry!" Kairi calls after him, still laughing though.

Later, while walking through the hallway to his locker, Sora sees Axel for the second time. The red-head is silently observing something in front of him.

"Hi!" Sora calls out excitedly and hurries over toward him. "I'm Sora Leon—"

"Shh," Axel replies distractedly, intently watching something.

Sora turns his head to find out what. That's when he sees a penguin carrying a backpack opening random lockers with its peak, stealing stuff from them, and then running off with the goods unnoticed.

Random Guy comes and checks his locker. "WHAT THE HELL!" He exclaims, and then declares to the hallway, "SOMEONE BROKE INTO MY LOCKER AND STOLE MY STUFF!"

"DUDE! I SAW IT! IT WAS A PENGUIN!" Sora exclaims back, all worked-up.

Axel pulls the brunette back aggressively. "Dude, no!" He hisses. "The school is testing you man! You can't let them know you see this stuff! Just try your damn best to ignore them. If you can't, they'll call you crazy and force you to go to stupid therapy sessions…" He stops when he notices Mr. Joe passing by, and then quickly looks back at Random Guy to find him crawling into his locker and closing it. Axel then looks back at Joe desperately, "Tell me you just saw all this shit!"

Calmly, Joe looks up from his notepad. "I beg your pardon?"

"FUCK!"

"Good day to you too Mr. Akuma," Joe replies sarcastically, shaking his head and moving on.

"Hey, you can't swear in school," Sora scolds the red-head out of the blue.

Axel rolls his eyes. "Fuck that. Since Demyx's sick and not here at the moment, I need another accomplice…" He looks at Sora. "Yeah. You'll do Spiky."

Sora looks at him warily. "Wh-What are you planning?"

Axel smirks. "Don't worry Spikes. You're just Demyx's replacement for the day. Come on." He starts dragging along Sora by his hood.

"Wh-Where are we going?"

"Class. I'm in the mood for revenge." He looks back at Sora, his smug smirk still on. "Doesn't Saix piss you off?"

"Huh?" Sora blinks stupidly, wide-eyed.

"Geez, you make a good Demyx replacement," Axel chuckles. "You're Sora Leonhart aren't ya? We share the same classes."

"Y-You know me?"

His smirk stretches. "Of course I know. It's me, Axel, got it memorized?"

Later, in Mr. Saix's class…

"Mr. Sex! Mr. Sex!"

Saix takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He can't go berserk again. He's gotten a warning after throwing Fred out of the window. Fortunately it's been the first story window.

Sora sweat-drops. _'So that's what he meant by revenge…'_

Axel, 'innocently', is raising his hand again. "Mr. Sex!"

Saix exhales deeply. "Alright. Mr. Akuma. You may answer the question."

"HAH!... _'Mr. _Akuma'.. Nah I was just messing with ya I don't know the answer... Mr. Sex."

Sora smiles to himself._ 'Axel is a really cool guy… One day, I hope we can be friends… Then maybe, just like Riku, he'll—'_

"SORA LEONHART! ARE YOU SPACING OUT IN MY CLASS?"

"N-No sir!"

"YOU **LIIIE**!"


End file.
